Naruto's Nomads
by Burnzs
Summary: Hinata's not the only one to be inspired by our little blonde.
1. Hinata

**Chapter 1**

It was Hinata's beginning year at the academy and already she was seen as a target for school bullies. Of the first few weeks of school, they always made fun of her for her eyes. That couple with her father's constant disappointment had made her into a trembling, nervous, mass. She always came to school in hopes of a new change, a new start. However, it never worked. No one came to help her, and she never saw someone who could change her views.

Then he came.

She didn't know him at first. He was a blonde, blue-eyed enigma as far as she was concerned, and he would have remained as such had it not been for that one fateful day. The bullies had felt a little brave one morning and they began to hurl insult upon insults at her and she was on the verge of tears. Just as she thought that their tormenting and savagery might break her, he jumped in front of her and told them to back off. She gained butterflies and almost cried in relief. Her tears dried up in seconds and to her horror, the bullies turned their anger on him in form of punches and kicks.

The large number of children quickly overpowered the small blonde.

When they finally seemed to have had enough, they walked away from the quivering, bloody mass, seemingly forgetting about their original target and she made a run to his side. He did not stir and when she moved to help him, she was stopped by a member of her clan and she was dragged back home. She was told to never play with him, and due to her fear, she reluctantly agreed.

A few weeks later, Hinata began to regret her decisions. Over that time, Hinata had watched the boy in admiration, and she began to worry when she saw him getting similar reactions from other parents.

Eventually she had learned his name. It was Naruto. As she watched him live his life, her admiration only grew. He was neglected and avoided, but instead of getting mad, he kept his smile. He was strong enough to face the village with happiness through every tribulation.

Every day she told herself that she would talk to him, but every day she would shy away. These days turned to weeks, then the weeks to years. By the time she turned seven, she finally gave up and decided to admire him from afar. She was sad to see that no one else seemed to understand his good qualities, but she still couldn't bring herself to talk to him because she was scared she might shatter her glass pedestal.

She usually found herself thinking of him whenever she was caught in tough situations. Spars, arguments, stuff like that, which was why she currently found herself asking the same question as she sat in front of her father, nervously awaiting the reason for the sudden call.

He looked down to her, "Hinata, I have called you here to alert you for an upcoming event."

Hinata remained motionless, but tilted her head forward in acknowledgement.

"It has come to the time when your cousin, "Hiroku has decided to take a wife. As the main family, we are obligated to join this wedding and support our family." Hinata nodded slightly, but she still felt confused. It must have shown on her face because Hiashi sighed, "I will allow you to invite one of your friends from school to help entertain you through the gathering.

Hinata smiled, but inwardly furrowed her brow as she tried to think of someone she could invite. She listed the possible candidates in her mind as a checklist. She knew right away that she couldn't ask Naruto, as she would probably faint before even getting the words out. Ino and Sakura were out cause they were to popular. Her father wouldn't approve of Kiba, Shikamaru would find it too troublesome, Choji wouldn't want to go without Shikamaru, and the only other kids she knew were the bullies, but they were out for obvious reasons.

She frowned. She really didn't know anyone from her class, and that was not something good for an heiress. She would have to see if she could convince someone. She just had to find the time to befriend someone. However, she felt that she had been silent for long enough, so nodded to her father and smiled, "Yes sir, I will find someone, and how long until the wedding?"

Hiashi frowned, "You have three weeks."

Hinata nodded and smiled before she was dismissed. She had some planning to do.

The next morning, Hinata stalked into the classroom and quietly strolled to the back row. As the rest of the class filed in, she subtly scanned the students for potential candidates that her father would approve of. Alas, she found none and just as she was about to give a dejected sigh and resign herself to making a fool out of herself at her cousin's wedding, she stopped when a boy walked in and she was hit with inspiration.

His name was Gekkō Sabishi. He had shaggy brown hair, cut to his shoulders and an open blue hoodie over a gray shirt. He also wore blue jeans and ninja sandals. She automatically recognized him as one of the more scholar students. He was also quiet and reserved through most of the class. Brains and subtlety would definitely count as characteristics that would impress her father. She decided then and there that he would be her target.

She waited until after class and stopped him before he could leave. She called his name and he looked around nervously before turning to face her. He gave a weak smile before he looked down, "G-good morning, H-Hyūga-san. H-how can I help you?"

She frowned. Why would Sabishi be nervous around her? She knew that he was nervous around others too, but Hinata didn't really see herself as an intimidating person. The nervousness he radiated made her feel sorry for him and her motherly instincts kicked in. As far as she could tell, it was just like when Hanabi or the children from the nursery had gone through their shy stages. She could help him out.

She gave a warm smile and he seemed to relax a little as she continued, "I was wondering if you would be willing to join me at the Shushuya for lunch. I hate the idea of being alone during lunch, and you don't appear busy."

Sabishi's eyes went wide with panic and he said, "I-it's a-alright! Y-you d-don't h-have t-to w-worry a-about m-me. I-I'm u-used t-to b-being a-alone."

Hinata frowned as his nervousness seemed to be making his stuttering worse. She could barely make out what he just said, but from the weak smile he was giving her, she could guess what he had said. She frowned and it seemed to make the boy shrink into himself.

She asked herself, 'what would Naruto do?' and she regretted it as soon as the answer popped into her mind. She knew she would have to apologize for this later, but she reached up and gently took his wrist and tugged him out the door. He reluctantly followed.

Iruka could only stare in bewilderment after Hinata as she led Sabishi out the door. Her crush on Naruto was so massive even he knew about it. He couldn't even fathom why she would ask anyone other than Naruto out on a date. There was no way that Naruto would get jealous. Heavens knew he was too dense to even realize the girl had feelings for him. He could only guess what was going on.

While Iruka pondered the enigma that just happened, he didn't notice the two figures in the hall. Ino leaned down to her friend Sakura and giggled, "Did you just hear Hinata ask that weird kid out?"

Sakura leaned in too, "I know! How weird is that? I thought she had a thing for Naruto."

Ino shrugged, "She must have out grown the idiot."

Sakura nodded in agreement, "I'm glad she came to her senses."

While the two girls giggled about Hinata's date, unbeknownst to them, a group of girls had heard them and were now giggling as well on the juicy news. Pretty soon Hinatas relationship status at the school would change.

**XxOxX**

Sabishi tried to stave his nervous quivering as one of the prettiest girls in his class asked him out on a date. When she had first asked him out, he had thought that she was just joking. Why would she go out with a loser like him? He figured that she would just string him around long enough to get his hopes up and then she would crush him. They always did.

He was going to refuse her. He knew that it was a trap, and he was going to yell at her to quit trying to trick him, but he couldn't. All he could do was stutter out a damn excuse that he knew would do little to appease her. She frowned and he shrunk back. Had he made her mad?

Finally, she sighed and took his wrist and practically dragged him out. He really wanted to protest. To tell her that she wouldn't trick him, but the words came out weak and inefficient. He sighed in resignation and inwardly cursed his cowardice. Why, oh, why couldn't he be like his idol? His idol that was so unflinching and took everything in stride, his idol that smiled even during troubled times and does his best to give that happiness to others around him. Why, oh, why couldn't he be like Naruto?

He knew it had to have something to do with is inefficiency as a ninja. His clan was known for their ability to pop out prodigies left and right. It was right up there with the Hatake clan and the Uchiha. His mother and father were both ninja and were both amazing at their jobs. His older brother had graduated the academy at an early age and had been revered as a prodigy. Alas, it seemed the talent gene passed a child, because his little sister was shaping up to pass him in school too, and to make it worse, his little brother was even showing more promise than he had a that age and he was four years younger.

He thought that becoming a ninja might make his family proud, but all he could do was disappoint them by being average. His grades in tests were above average, but his physical tests were average, and it affected his performance overall.

Now as he went over the thought of making his family mad, he could only stay silent as Hinata dragged him into the Shushuya and called for a waiter. They were seated and she gave him a brilliant smile. The smile was too infectious and he gave another of his small smiles in response.

He just wanted to get it over, so he sighed and began, "S-so, what did y-you want to talk about, H-Hyūga-san?"

Hinata smiled, "Please, Call me Hinata. We can be friends, right?"

Sabishi couldn't help the red that flushed on his cheeks as she gently reprimanded him. He nodded, "Very w-well. What did you w-want to talk about, H-Hinata-san?"

She frowned again and he shrunk back again. She seemed to notice and her expression softened. Sabishi relaxed slightly and she responded, "I have a proposition for you."

Sabishi nodded nervously.

"I am in need of a date for a wedding that my father wants me to show up to. I listed the possible candidates and have narrowed the category down to you. You remind me of myself because you re quiet, but smart, talented but reserved. Due to the fact that you hail from one of the smaller clans, you will impress my father and I will make a new friend," she paused and looked down blushing. She seemed to be going over what she just said and she stuttered out, "I'm s-sorry about that. This is r-really important, so I decided to t-treat this as if I was my cousin. I didn't m-mean to be so forward, but I've never asked s-someone out on a date before and I'm a little nervous."

Sabishi gave an incredulous look. From what he gathered, her father expected her to bring a date to a wedding and she wanted him. As the thought hit him, he looked down blushing and started to chew on his thumb nail, a nervous habit he had.

She seemed to get her bearings together and she continued, "I'm sorry it's so sudden. I really did want to try to make a new friend, so I asked now instead of waiting. We have a few weeks until the wedding and I was thinking that we could try being friends, and if you don't want to by then, I wouldn't mind going alone."

Sabishi couldn't help himself and he blurted out, "Why would someone as pretty as you want to go out with a loser like me?" as soon as the words left his mouth, he clamped his hands over his mouth and blushed while looking down and her response was to stare at him in shock.

She finally broke out of her stupor and she looked down, blushing as well, "Y-you think I'm p-pretty?" suddenly, she stopped her blushing and she looked up at him strangely, "You think you're a loser?"

He was taken aback by the genuine shock in her voice, and he could only weakly nod. She shook her head, "When we hang out, maybe I can fix that."

He couldn't help the small smile that crept on his face, "I guess I no longer have a choice in the matter."

She gave a wicked smile that sent shivers down his spine, "Nope," she said cheerfully.

Little did the two know, Sakura and Ino had gathered a group of girls and they spied on the pseudo date. They were too far away to hear everything clearly, but what they did hear made them giggle.

Ino smiled, "Did she just say something about a wedding? This is really sudden!"

Sakura nodded, "I know what you mean! I didn't even know those two were dating! It's so romantic!"

As the two swooned, a third girl stepped up. She had red hair put into a ponytail, a red tank top and jean shorts. She leaned in next to the girls and giggled, "It's like a forbidden love, a secret romance that was hidden for several years until marriage!"

Ino's eye twinkled, "Tsukihana, I like the way you think."

The three love-struck girls didn't even notice when the two left for the restaurant and were so caught up in fantasies that they were nearly late for their next class. Hinata's relationship status would get an upgrade.

**Owari**

**Lol I'm writing a new one! Okay, so for the record, it's not going to be Hinata x OC. In fact, it probably won't be any romance at all. I suck at writing the stuff and it makes me go "ew."**

**I tried to design a boy version of Hinata, so it's not really OC. It's more a character with familiar characteristics.**


	2. Sabishi

**Chapter 2**

The next day, Hinata caught up with Sabishi again as he was walking out of the school, causing him to jump in fright, "Oh! H-Hinata-san, please don't sneak up on me like that."

Hinata apologized before asking, "So did you think of what I asked? I may have been a bit forward yesterday, but if this date thing doesn't work out, I would still love to be your friend. When we hang out, I will refrain from calling them dates if it makes you feel better."

Sabishi nodded, "I w-would appreciate that. Th-thanks," he frowned, "Are you s-sure that you want m-me, though? I'm s-sure you have other, b-better choices that you could pick."

Hinata bit her lip in concentration. Damn that stutter was annoying. If only she could get him to lighten up and relax more. She had to wonder if her stutter was this tiresome to those she talked to. She would have to fix that.

"W-well, I have ta-taken what you said into c-consideration, and I f-figured that it could end up f-fun, so I don't m-mind hanging out for th-three weeks.

Hinata gave him a brilliant grin and he returned it with his own, smaller one. The two met up the following off day as planned with no idea what to do. In the end, they decided to start slow and headed to the local park.

Hinata would talk to Sabishi, and he would stutter back. She almost saw it as progress if it hadn't been for the fact that he was still uncomfortable around her. What was worse was that Sabishi was so nervous that it would affect his actions.

For instance, when he went for the water fountain, He sprayed it all over himself, then when he tried to use the play set, he would trip in the most inopportune times. Each time, she heard him silently cursing his stupidity.

She was about to confront him on this, but she was stopped when she heard him muttering after a recent mistake, "Why can't I be more like him? He would totally handle this situation better."

She smiled at the idea, because that meant she had another conversation topic to use in attempt to get him to open up. Her current tries revolved around what the others from her class seemed to like. Suffice to say, none worked.

She sighed and helped him up before leading him to a nearby picnic table. She sat down and looked at him, "So, Sabishi. Tell me more about yourself. You haven't really told me much of anything."

Sabishi looked down, "Th-there's not really m-much to tell. I'm nothing s-special."

Hinata did her best to suppress a sigh, "All right, I'll be more specific. What kind of stuff do you like to do?"

"Calligraphy," he blushed and looked away as if what he said was the most ridiculous thing to enjoy doing.

She smiled, "That's interesting. You'll have to show me some later!"

He nodded unsurely.

She tapped her chin, as if thinking of another question, "Do you have anyone you look up to?"

He looked up at her with a smile, but it soon melted away into a look of suspicion, "Why do you want to know?"

She frowned at the hostility but brushed it off, "I was just asking because I also have someone that I look up to. He's not exactly liked by everyone, but he's the coolest kid I know," she sighed contently, "He's always smiling and being a joy to others, no matter how much he fails or receives no support."

Sabishi blinked, "Do you mean Naruto?"

Hinata was shocked by his question. She didn't think she described him too much. Thus she lit up bright red and looked down, "H-how did you kn-know?"

She looked down in defeat. Now he would laugh at her and he would refuse to go to the wedding with her, then she would make a fool of herself, then her father would disown her, then he would kick her out, then she-

Her frantic thoughts were cut off when Sabishi waved a hand in front of her face. When she finally looked up at him, his face lit up with the largest grin she had seen from him all day, "The reason why I guessed so easily is because he's my role model too."

Hinata's jaw dropped, "Really? I thought I was the only one!"

Sabishi nodded eagerly, "Naruto is the coolest. The fact that he can stand so much hatred yet remain so pure is amazing. I really admire everything about him!" he paused and looked down, "Well, not when he sleeps in class or slacks off, but otherwise I look up to him in what he does."

Hinata absentmindedly smiled since Sabishi hadn't stuttered in any of his praise for Naruto. Apparently, the blonde was inspirational to more than just her. The two of them spent a while exchanging stories of their encounters with Naruto. Hinata went to bed that night with a smile. Apparently, she had something else to thank Naruto for if she ever got the courage to. Hinata had mulled over a new idea, but it seemed that this boy could be trusted so she turned to him.

"Sabishi-kun?" she asked gently.

The boy quickly turned to her with a curious, guarded look, "Y-yes Hinata-san?"

She took a deep breath, but released it and quickly said, "I know where he trains. Did you want to see if you could talk to him?"

Sabishi went wide eyed, and after a moment he started shaking his head frantically, "N-no. N-no. I-It's alright. He doesn't n-need to meet with someone like m-me."

Hinata smiled kindly at him and she giggled, "I doubt that he would really find himself more important than you. From what I've seen, he seems like the type to enjoy friendship as it was."

Sabishi seemed to think it over and he finally nodded, "A-Alright. I'll t-try."

Hinata nodded and quietly led the boy to the academy training ground. She motioned to him and they snuck behind a nearby tree and peered around to see the target of their admiration.

Sabishi smiled really big at Hinata, "He's so cool! He's working so hard!"

Hinata smiled, "Yep, and now's your chance to talk to him without someone catching you!"

His smile fell and he began to bite his thumbnail, "I-I can't do it. I just d-don't want to disturb him. C-can't we just stay here and watch him train?"

Hinata lit up. Of course he didn't know that that was exactly what she did in her spare time, but he also didn't need to know that, "Sure," she said.

He lit up really bright and the two of them sat down to watch the blonde train for the next few hours. Hinata was unable to speak for Sabishi, but she was looking forward to one part in particular of Naruto's everyday training ritual. It was when he took off his shirt to go swimming in the nearby pond.

She stared intently at him and almost completely lost track of everything else. That is, until Sabishi waved a hand in front of her face and said, "Hinata-senpai, are you a pervert?"

She blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. And without further ado, she fainted.

When she woke up, Sabishi was looking down at her with a large, shit-eating grin, "He finished training some twenty minutes ago," he said, "I wasn't sure what to do about you, so I just decided to wait for you to wake up. I was able to catch up on my studies as I waited," he waved around the text book he was reading to emphasize his point.

Hinata blushed and looked down in shame, "I-I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to waste our day. I completely ruined it!"

Sabishi snorted, "Ruined? Hinata-senpai, you helped me to see how awesome my idol really was while giving me the time of day that others seem less inclined to give. This was actually the best day I've had in a while," His face broke into a grin that threatened to split his face.

Hinata blushed and looked down before stuttering, "I-I'm glad I c-could help."

Sabishi nodded vigorously, "Yeah, yeah, it really was fun," he paused and looked down abashedly and blushed, "Can we hang out again tomorrow?"

Hinata immediately brightened, "I would love to…" she trailed off and looked down. Her father might not approve of her disappearing two days in a row. She was about to retract her statement and suggest another time, but then she looked down at Sabishi and instantly regretted it.

He must have understood that she was going to cancel because he looked as if someone had just kicked his puppy and laughed at him while running away. She made the mistake of meeting his eyes. They were swirling brown pools of sorrow and pleading. She sighed.

_Damn._

Her smile returned, "I would love to hang out tomorrow. I just need to talk to my father before we can settle on a time."

She would grow content with that decision. She did find Sabishi the next day and because he was less nervous around her, he and she had done more than just the park. They ended up visiting the shopping district and even went out to do some training of their own.

That is, until it came time to spy on Naruto's training. If they were asked about it, they would refer to it as 'observing' and never actually admit that they were stalking the poor boy.

They eventually agreed to call it a day and the two left to go home. Tomorrow they had to show up at school, so they wouldn't be able to hang out, but they still exchanged goodbyes with each other when splitting from each other. Hinata definitely enjoyed herself and she was starting to think that she made the right choice in her date.

**XxOxX**

The next morning, Sabishi found himself smiling as he made his way to school. Not only had Hinata been genuine in her request for friendship, now she had shown him that he could spy on Naruto without getting caught.

He knew it wasn't right, but it was just so cool to see Naruto training. The more he saw the blonde work so hard, the more capable he felt. Just the fact that someone who was so cool could easily conquer training gave him the idea that he could too.

When he found his way into the school, he was happy to see Hinata up at the top in her usual spot. He timidly walked up to Hinata and asked to sit next to her and she nodded happily. He tried to hide his sigh of relief.

He turned to ask her a question, but the words died on his lips as he heard the giggling behind him. He went pale and slowly turned around to see Ino and Sakura subtly shooting glances at him from their seats in the front.

He only went paler as his biggest fear seemed to be coming true. Girls were giggling about him behind his back, so that meant that there must have been rumors going on around him. He slowly put his head down and tried his best to disappear.

He heard Hinata's concerned voice beside him, "Sabishi-kun, what's wrong?"

Sabishi sighed in resignation and turned to her, "I have a feeling that there are rumors going around about me. I hate rumors. I have an irrational fear that I will be laughed out of a school because of rumors."

He felt Hinata pat his shoulder, "Don't worry about them, Sabishi-kun. They're probably giggling about Uchiha-san or something. There's no guarantee that-."

She was interrupted by the sound of a pair of approaching footsteps. Sabishi tried to suppress the shudder that was threatening to manifest.

"So," he heard Ino, "When are you two going to get married?"

That did it. Sabishi's head shot up so fast that he might have gotten whiplash, "Say what?"

Sakura smiled, "We heard that you two were going to get married because your clans are feuding and you want to prevent a war."

With that, he slowly put his head down again, but this time, there was a blush present. He really hated rumors.

**Owari**


	3. Tsukihana

**Chapter 3**

Hinata had butterflies in her stomach as she got ready for the approaching wedding. As she adjusted her accessories, she couldn't help but smile at the memories of the past events. The last three weeks had definitely been the most fun she had ever had.

She and Sabishi had gotten together every chance they got and every time they found something fun to do together. They would take walks, they would spar, and they would go shopping. It all ranged, but ended every day at the same time and they made their way to the academy to participate in their favorite espionage pastime.

Now, however, the deadline for Sabishi to decide was in three hours and he still hadn't clarified if he wanted to join her in an official date to the wedding. Just as she was about to panic, one of her cousins called to her from outside her door.

"Yes?" she asked, trying to hide the hope in her voice.

"There is a Mister Gekkō Sabishi outside the gates wanting to meet with you."

Hinata looked down at her very constricting dress and had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to get to him easily anytime soon. She looked pleadingly at the branch member and he seemed to read her mind because he smiled and bowed politely before leaving to get Sabishi.

Sabishi started to walk into the room with a smile on his face, "Sorry it took so long, Hinata-senpai, I had to get permission from my family, and I wanted to- Holy shit!"

He interrupted himself when he laid eyes on Hinata. She was wearing a formfitting black dress that fanned out on the bottom. There were metallic flowering designs littering the form all over. Her hair was put up into an exquisite bun with chopsticks. She also had makeup on and it appeared to have been put on with extreme care.

"Wow," he said, "Lookin' good, Hinata-senpai!"

Hinata blushed, "Y-you think so?"

Sabishi gave a thumbs up, "With that, you'll be winning Naruto's heart in no time!" Hinata's blush darkened and he snickered, but then he looked down in shame, "I'm sorry to ask you this, but I kind of don't have anything to wear to a wedding. Do you happen to have a tux or something I could borrow?"

Hinata chuckled nervously, "After my father found out that I was inviting you, he ordered a tux for you to wear." She neglected to mention that her father planned on forcing him to wear it regardless of what he wanted to wear, but he really didn't need to know that. Hinata wobbled off of her podium and made her way toward the closet where she pulled out a tuxedo that was wrapped in plastic and hung up.

Sabishi gaped, "Th-that looks really expensive. A-are you sure that it's okay for me to wear that?"

Hinata waved his concern off, "My father insisted," she rolled her eyes, "He said that as long as a non-Hyūga like you was coming to a Hyūga wedding, he would at least make you presentable as not to embarrass the main family."

Sabishi smiled, "That was considerate of him."

Hinata nearly choked when she heard that. Luckily, she recovered without him noticing and she waited quietly for him to change. He closed the door to the next room over and she heard a few clanks of hangers. Then she heard a loud crash.

She almost jumped up to throw the door open and see if he was okay, but she was stopped by the little voice before she could move, "I'm alright!" Sabishi called out, "My bad."

She snorted in a very unladylike manner, but said nothing. When he exited, he had a simple tux on with a cream colored bowtie. He began to swagger out in an overly cool fashion, "So how do I look?"

He twirled and Hinata giggled, "Looking snazzy."

He smiled and flipped his collar, "The snazziest."

She giggled again and the branch member chose that moment to enter and alert them of the ten minute warning to be ready.

Sabishi looked confused, "But wait… I thought that the wedding wasn't for three more hours."

The branch member nodded, "It's a practice for the real wedding."

Sabishi still wasn't satisfied, "But wait… I thought you were supposed to practice weeks before the wedding with everyone not dressed up."

The branch member frowned, not attempting to hide his annoyance, "It's a dress rehearsal."

Sabishi frowned "But wait… I thought it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride after the getup was put on."

The branch member snarled, "I don't know, kid. Quit asking so many questions!" With that, he stormed out of the room and shut the door.

Hinata giggled, "I think he likes you."

Sabishi blew on his nails and pretended to buffer them against his jacket, "It's the charisma, baby."

Hinata smiled and led him out the door towards the hall. They took their places and waited for the ceremony to start. They ended up standing in the same place for the three hours, as it turned out that the wedding planner just messed up the time.

By the time the wedding actually started, the two were practically dead on their feet. As soon as they heard "I do," they rushed to a nearby table to sit and wait out the rest of the party. They talked about nonsensical things of no relative importance, but somehow, the conversations always revolved back around the favorite blonde.

They were about to get up and see about leaving, but they stopped when someone plopped down at their table. Hinata was surprised to see that it was that girl who always hung out with Sakura and Ino. What was her name? Oh yeah, Tsukihana. She was looking very downtrodden, and Hinata's caring nature got the best of her.

"I-Is something wrong, Ts-Tsukihana-san?"

Tsukihana looked over to her surprised and her eyes lit up in recognition, "Oh hey! You two are from my class! Hinata-chan and…" she trailed off and tapped her chin, "Satoshi?"

Sabishi nodded meekly and looked away, "C-close enough."

Hinata sighed again and turned to Tsukihana, "Y-yes. I was just w-wondering if you were upset b-because of your demeanor wh-when you sat down."

Tsukihana seemed to remember and her smile fell. She put her head on the table and sighed, "I was invited as a date to one of the Hyūga and they ended up completely ditching me as soon as the wedding was done. I don't even know where the jerk went."

Hinata gasped, "Wh-why would he do something like that?"

Tsukihana shrugged, "Dunno. I think he and his friends were having a contest to see if they could bring the hottest girl. When I lost, I, along with the other girls got ditched and our dates left with the winner," she flipped her hair, "Clearly they were blind to not pick me, but alas, that's how I find myself here dateless."

Hinata looked down, "Th-that's terrible. Y-you're welcome to s-stay and chat with us if you want."

Tsukihana smiled brightly, "Thanks! So what are you guys talking about?"

Hinata spoke without thinking, "C-currently, we're having a d-debate."

Tsukihana tilted her head in curiosity, "What about?"

Hinata flushed, "N-nothing important."

Tsukihana leaned across the table, "C'mon, tell me please," she leaned even closer, "Pleeeease?"

Hinata sighed and looked away before quietly saying, "W-we were arguing wh-what Naruto-kun would do d-during his next training exercise. I think that he's g-going to try kunai while S-Sabishi-kun thinks it will b-be shuriken."

Tsukihana wrinkled her nose, "Naruto? You mean that idiot from class? Why would you care?"

Sabishi didn't seem to like that comment, "Th-that's not t-true! He's n-no loser!" he said with as much force as he could, which still wasn't much, "H-He's the coolest!"

Tsukihana snorted, "Please, Sasuke-kun is way cooler. He's smarter, stronger and all around better."

Hinata shook her head, "Th-that's not true! N-Naruto-kun trains every day. He's just failing because of his low grades in the written tests."

Tsukihana rolled her eyes, "Sure."

Hinata was indignant, "I-it's true! If y-you don't believe me, then y-you should watch h-him practice."

Tsukihana snorted, "And I'm sure you know exactly where he trains and you spy on him daily."

Hinata looked down and her blush deepened, "W-well…" she trailed off.

Tsukihana gasped in a dramatic fashion, "You do spy on him! Oh this is great! Naruto has his own little fan club!"

Hinata began waving her hands back and forth, "P-please settle down, Tsukihana-san. We don't exactly want to broadcast our admiration."

Tsukihana snickered, "Alright, you've caught my attention. If this Naruto kid has his own fan club, then he must be something. You show me his training schedule and if I like what I see, I'll switch over to your guy's side. Then I'll help you take down Sasuke's fan club"

Hinata became frantic, "We're not trying to take anyone down! We just think Naruto's really cool and we like to admire him from afar."

Tsukihana waved it off, "Yeah yeah, sure."

Hinata sighed in defeat and stuttered out, "W-Well, after we get done here, w-we should have some time to head over to the academy tr-training ground to see if Naruto-kun is still there."

Tsukihana nodded, "Alright. I'll meet you guys at the front gate after I change back to normal clothes. I want to see the so called 'dead-last' from your perspective."

Hinata nodded as the other girl left. She took a drink from her tea, turning to Sabishi, and she almost choked when she saw the dumbstruck expression on his face. She coughed a little before clearing her throat, "Is something wrong, Sabishi-kun?"

Sabishi went pale, "G-girls are sc-scary."

**XxOxX**

Tsukihana waited outside the Hyūga compound as Hinata and Satoshi came out to greet her. As she followed them toward the academy, she was starting to wonder what exactly she was doing. Why was she scoping other guys when Sasuke was the only man for her?

The answer was curiosity, of course. As she heard the quietest people in class adamantly defend him, then he must be an extremely inspirational bugger. Satoshi was especially ferocious. If someone could get quiet, recluse people to lash out on his behalf, she just had to find out what was so special about him.

As she and the other two made their way into the woods, she quietly contemplated the possible scenarios. Normally, she would just guess that he was probably doing something stupid and leave it at that, but this time, she decided to give him a chance.

The two carefully sat down by a tree and when she looked around it, she saw a clearing that held the subject of her curiosity. Naruto was going through the academy katas in a methodical, careful way. He was so serious that he was sticking his tongue out in concentration.

Tsukihana gaped. Whoa. He was really serious. Could she have been wrong about him? Maybe he was more than just the idiot and class clown. She also couldn't help the thought that he looked pretty cute posed like that.

Before that thought could completely manifest, Naruto stopped and turned before dragging over a box and pulling out what looked to be a blunted kunai. She absentmindedly noticed Satoshi look defeated before he pull out ten Ryo to give it to Hinata.

Naruto was doing his best to throw the kunai at a bulls-eye in the center of a log. He mostly shot around the paper, but his effort was definitely nothing to scoff at. He really was something special and she was actually thinking of switching, but all thought stopped at what happened next.

Naruto put his Kunai away before reaching down and pulling off his shirt.

_Oh sweet kami._

Her eyes roamed all over his body and she felt blood trickle out of her nose before she fainted with a perverted grin on her face.

When she woke up, she saw that Satoshi and Hinata were seated by a tree, reading textbooks. She sat up groggily and Satoshi smiled at her, "Naruto's g-gone," he said, "So wh-what do you think?"

Tsukihana paused a moment to think it over, but then her mind flashed aback to what she last saw, "I'LL DO IT!"

Her loud exclamation startled the other two and they seemed to be looking at her fearfully. She scratched the back of her neck and grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, I got a little excited."

**XxOxX**

Sabishi smiled at Hinata as they sat down at the back of the class. It looked like there was someone else that was inspired by Naruto, although, he was a bit worried after her fainting spell yesterday. Hinata had done the same and he really didn't want to end up doing the same thing.

He was about to voice his concerns, but he was stopped when a familiar girl plopped down into the seat beside him.

"Ohayo, Hinata-chan, Satoshi-kun." Tsukihana said.

Hinata nodded and gave equal greetings, but Sabishi still wasn't used to being talked to by people other than Hinata. He squirmed a little before looking down and saying, "O-ohaya, Tsukihana-san."

Tsukihana smiled and nodded, but then she got really low and went closer to the other two and whispered conspiratorially, "Okay, so I have a bit of experience from Sasuke's fan club and I can help you guys become one of the most feared entities in school."

Hinata shook her head, "W-we're not trying to b-beat anyone! We just want to sh-share our thoughts of admiration w-with peers of similar opinions!"

Tsukihana shook her head, "It's the attitude like that that is why you won't succeed in this business. You guys worry about your thoughts, I'll worry about everything else," she paused, "Don't forget to let me come next time you decide to spy on him again."

Hinata went bright red and Sabishi looked down, ashamed.

Tsukihana just shrugged off their reactions and continued, "Alright, so we need a name for our fan club. Sasuke's is Sasuke's sweethearts. We need to come up with an alliteration that helps describe our group."

Hinata frowned, "W-well, we usually just follow him around, so there's not much to work with."

Tsukihana put a finger to her lips in thought, "Hmm. Well is there a synonym for follower that starts with an 'n'?

Sabishi shook his head, "Not that I know of, but a nomad is someone who wanders around."

Tsukihana smiled and nodded, "From now on, we're going to be known as Naruto's Nomads!"

**Owari**


	4. Operation: Lunchbox

**Chapter 4**

Hinata sat at her desk trying her best to disappear as Tsukihana sat beside her, trying to engage Sabishi in a debate about Naruto's best qualities. He, of course, was unable to keep up the argument and proceeded to become a stuttering mess.

It had been around a month since the three created their fan club, and Sabishi still found it hard to talk to her without stuttering. Although, the good news was that they remained undiscovered. The majority of the meetings consisted of spying on Naruto as he trained, but Tsukihana always brought up the idea that they should actually talk to him. Each time, Sabishi and Hinata would immediately turn it down.

After she and Sabishi had shot her down so much, Hinata was afraid that the poor girl would snap. Unfortunately, it seemed that that snap was on its way.

"I can't take it anymore!" Tsukihana yelled, "I get that you two are silent supporters, and that if you talked to Naruto then you both would probably pass out, but all we've done so far is spy on his training for a month! I mean, he doesn't even know that he has a fan club!"

Hinata and Sabishi shrunk back as Tsukihana ranted at them. She had moved through her arguments as the two stared wide-eyed. She said he was alone. She said he had no friends. She said he had no one caring for him. Each thing she said struck the two of them harshly, but they knew the points were valid.

"Are you two listening? Hinata, I know that you are in love with him and are too afraid to say so."

Hinata blushed but didn't argue.

"Satoshi, I realize that you usually ask yourself what Naruto would do. Well, would Naruto act as you two are?"

Sabishi looked down in shame.

"That's right," she said, finishing up, "Now that you two realize the holes in your plans, how about we mix it up with something new."

Hinata sat up straight again, "A-alright. Y-you make valid points. W-what would you h-have us do?"

Hinata suddenly felt nervous at the other girl's wicked smile.

"Well," Tsukihana said, "The solution is simple. All you have to do is ask Naruto out."

Hinata didn't hear anymore because she was blissfully unconscious.

When she woke up, she looked up to see Sabishi looking down to her, worried. She gave him a shaky smile that he returned with his own small smile. Of course, her smile turned to a frown when she saw the form of Tsukihana crouched down beside him, shaking with laughter.

"Now that you're back, I can give the real suggestion," she said, earning a glare from the Hyūga heiress. She easily waved it off and continued, "Alright, so I was thinking that you guys could show your support without actually talking much."

Sabishi quirked an eyebrow, "H-how exactly d-do you expect to d-do that?"

Tsukihana smiled again, making Hinata uncomfortable, but her discomfort went away when the red-head spoke one word, "Bento."

Hinata blinked in confusion, "Huh?"

Tsukihana nodded, "Yup. A bento. If you two make a lunch for him and present it to him every day, then you'll support him and he'll think you're just being nice."

Hinata blushed at the thought, "Isn't t-that a little f-forward? I'm not s-sure he w-would want it even if w-we did."

Tsukihana rolled her eyes, "Sure sure, just trust me. I know what I'm doing."

Hinata tried to protest again, but it didn't come out loud enough to persuade Tsukihana otherwise, so she nodded in defeated agreement.

"Excellent!" Tsukihana cheered, "Time to start Operation: Lunchbox!"

Hinata went straight home after school. She didn't even get her usual eyeful of Naruto. She didn't want to say it, but she was glad to be able to finally show her love in another way other than silently cheering him on. She went to the kitchen in her house and asked one of the branch members to show her how to prepare a bento for the next day.

The member questioned her, but she said it was an important matter, so there were no more arguments. She already knew how to cook, but she just needed guidance of what to make. She just had to hope that the lunch would be suitable. She went to bed that night, nervous about her upcoming chance.

When she woke up, she quickly got dressed and found herself in front of a stove. She made rice, boiled vegetables and pork slices and meticulously molded them into onigiri shaped like Naruto's head. She then added some heart-shaped sweet cakes on the side. She placed the lid over the box and wrapped in a blue and orange bandana.

With that, she happily skipped to school. Unfortunately, she had to stop when she saw the bullies walking down the road toward her. She had to be careful because they would definitely try to take her bento, so she jumped into the nearby bushes and snuck through toward the school.

When she finally made it to the gate, she saw Sabishi standing and waiting and he had a bento as well. His was wrapped in a dark blue bandana. He was looking down, blushing. She had to resist the urge to scream kawaii and smother him. She jumped out from the bushed, causing him to startle.

"I-I asked you not t-to do that, H-Hinata-senpai." He whined.

Hinata smiled down at him, "Sorry about that. I was just trying to avoid some unwanted company."

Sabishi quirked an eyebrow, but decided not to comment, instead he looked back down, "I-I can't b-believe you g-guys convinced m-me to d-do this. Isn't th-this thing kind of weird?"

Hinata scratched her cheek, "I think that Tsukihana only wanted me to make a bento. You didn't actually have to."

This just caused Sabishi to shrink into himself under a little doom cloud, "I'm s-sorry," he said.

Hinata shook her head, "No, it might be easier if we do it together."

Sabishi meekly nodded in agreement.

"Hey all!" they heard Tsukihana before they saw her, but the fact that she was speeding toward them had that fixed in seconds. She too carried a bento. This one was wrapped in a bandana with a strawberry pattern, "Are you guys ready for our first club activity?" she paused, "Okay, the second club activity if you count spying."

Hinata nodded and Sabishi kept his head down. Tsukihana didn't seem to like this, so she walked over to the boy and playfully smacked him in the back, causing him to topple forward.

"Lighten up, Satoshi-kun! Naruto-kun's a nice guy, so I'm sure he won't _completely_ refuse yours for the lunches of two beautiful ladies such as myself and Hinata-chan."

Sabishi didn't comment, choosing instead to keep his head down. She shrugged and led them to class. The three headed in, two in anxiousness, and one in bubble-headed bliss. Class was just as boring. Nothing new was taught, but Hinata noticed Sabishi taking thorough notes, no doubt to compare with previous ones he took. She smiled at his actions, but wisely chose not to comment. He probably needed the distraction.

Iruka seemed to have finished his lecture and was starting to wrap up. She smiled nervously at the other two as he released them for lunch. They quietly congregated at the door as the other students filed out. When the room cleared, it wasn't too difficult to find Naruto because the little blond was still napping from when Iruka was talking.

The three shared a glance before two gulped in anticipation and one stepped forward and tapped his desk. He didn't stir, so Tsukihana tapped harder. The only response she got was a loud snore and she gained a tick mark. She slammed her fist on the table.

Naruto was startled awake and stared up fearfully at Tsukihana. This, of course, turned to a look of guarded annoyance, "What do you want? Are you going to try to bully me too?"

Tsukihana frowned, "Why would I do that?" he looked like he was going to answer, so she just clapped her hands together beside her face and swooned, "We just noticed that you don't usually have a lunch at this time, so we wanted to help you out," she stepped to the side and the other two came forward and placed their bentos on the table along with Tsukihana's.

Naruto stared, wide-eyed at the three of them and Hinata and Sabishi bowed deeply to him before dragging Tsukihana off toward the abandoned classroom that acted as their official club room. Once they saw that no one was following, Hinata and Sabishi fell to the ground, the adrenaline slowly exiting their system.

Hinata nodded to Sabishi and he smiled back. Mission success! What's even better is that Naruto probably had no idea what was going on!

**XxOxX**

Sabishi was still winding down from the adrenaline rush as the three of them made their way into the classroom. He and Hinata joined Tsukihana as they sat in the back. He made sure to keep his gaze away from Naruto as the boy was frantically waving toward all three of them from his seat in the front. Finally, he gave in and he and Hinata waved back, earning a beaming smile from him. Sabishi was content in getting his stuff, but he was interrupted by a hand slapping the desk next to him.

He looked up and cringed back as he saw a smirking Ino, "So," she began, "when are you guys leaving?"

Sabishi furrowed his brows, "Wh-what do y-you mean? I-I don't plan on going anywhere."

Ino shook her head, letting her flowing blonde hair sway back and forth, "No, I heard that you and two girls were going to get together to become nomads and roam the land looking for the perfect ramen topping, and then today you were saying something about putting that ramen in a bento."

Sabishi placed his head on the desk, fighting the urge to smash his head. He really hated rumors.

**XxOxX**

Tsukihana watched from the back as Naruto fidgeted in his seat. As she had planned, Operation: Lunchbox's hidden mission was a success. She knew that he would become curious because of the lunch and would probably want to thank them. Then the two shy kids would be able to speak freely with their idol.

It's just too bad that Naruto had pranked Iruka at the beginning of class, thereby getting him stuck in the seat at the front of the room. Now they were going to have to wait for the end of class for the mission to be a full success.

She looked over to Satoshi and Hinata and they seemed to be fidgeting as well. No doubt they had too come up with the same conclusion. She did her best to suppress the evil smirk at her friends' expenses, choosing instead to face forward and pretend to be paying attention.

The time flew by too slowly for her tastes, but when Iruka finally released class for the day, there was an orange blur and Naruto was standing in front of them, searching through his pockets.

"Thanks for the lunch you guys! It was delicious" he said happily, "I was worried that I was going to have to skip lunch today. You guys really saved me!" He placed the three empty containers and their bandanas on the table.

Tsukihana smiled and nodded, looking toward her other friends for their conformation, and immediately had to suppress a giggle as Hinata and Satoshi were looking down, blushing, and mumbling something incoherent. She was about to try and snap them out of it, but she was stopped by the sound of a clang beside her. She looked down in surprise mirrored by the other two as Naruto placed down money in front of them.

"Um…" she started carefully, eying the money as he placed it down, as it seemed to be much more than their lunches would be worth even if they were charging him, "What are you doing?"

Naruto looked up with a blinding grin, "I'm paying for the meal. Since you guys didn't tell me how much it was, I decided to give you the same that I pay for the same stuff at the market."

Tsukihana, for once, was speechless. He was paying them as if he wasn't used to gifts before. She just gained a little more respect for him, and a bit of jealousy for Hinata since the other girl had called dibbs.

"That's not n-necessary." Tsukihana was shocked to hear Hinata's timid voice perk up, "It was a gift. We just w-wanted to help you out s-since you don't usually bring l-lunch and have to g-go out to eat."

Naruto gained a strange look on his face. It was like he didn't know how to react, and after what appeared to be internal debate, he decided on a worried look, "Are you sure you meant to give it to me? I mean, I did see the teme given lunches before, but he only turned it down. Did you want to give it to him?"

Hinata shook her head and Satoshi stepped forward, "N-no, we were h-hoping to help y-you out. It w-was meant f-for you."

Naruto's confusion turned into another beaming grin, "Thanks, you guys!" he said, "My name's Uzumaki Naruto!" He stuck out his hand.

Tsukihana took his hand and shook it, "Nice to meet you, Naruto-kun, I am Tsukihana, she's Hinata, and that's Sato-."

"Sabishi!"

Tsukihana looked back at Satoshi because of the outburst, but he didn't seem to be doing anything, so she just shrugged and looked back at Naruto. He smiled and nodded his head to each of them, "Nice to meet you, Tsukihana-chan, Hinata-chan, and Sabishi. Thanks again for the lunch."

Satoshi and Hinata nodded while Tsukihana laughed evilly behind her hand. He was about to say more, but they were interrupted by the clearing of a throat behind them. They looked up to see an angry Iruka.

"As precious as this is, I'm afraid that Naruto has a sentence to serve and I need the class cleared," he paused and eyed them each, "Unless you three want to join Naruto in detention?"

Before he even finished the sentence, the three were out the door and Tsukihana called back, "See you tomorrow, Naruto-kun!"

As she walked, she could feel her friends' glares on her back. She turned around while walking, "Why are you glaring at me? I think that went well."

Hinata frowned and crossed her arms. This, of course, had less effect due to the large blush that she was sporting, "Y-you planned that, d-didn't you?" she tried to reprimand.

Tsukihana let her eyes wander around, "I have _no _Idea what you're talking about."

As they split off, saying their goodbyes, Tsukihana snickered to herself.

_Operation Lunchbox: Success._

**Owari**


	5. Self Esteem Issues

**Chapter 5**

After that day, the three of them had brought a bento for Naruto and ended up joining him for lunch every day. From the way he spoke, it was clear that he hadn't had much experience with social interactions. He was loud, brash, and blunt. They loved every minute of it.

At the beginning, Hinata had feared that Naruto would find their presence tedious and ask them to leave, but each day, they would come over to ask to join him and his face would light up, making her heart flutter.

After those worries were quelled, she began to worry that the only reason he let them come was to get a free lunch. When she claimed that the three had forgotten one day, he didn't seem to mind. She still brought a lunch for him, though.

Even though they had gotten along with Naruto, they still met daily after school for their secret fan club and Naruto was none the wiser. She noticed that Sabishi seemed a little more open. He didn't seem as scared as he had been, of course, he was still intimidated by the coolness that was Naruto, but that too had gotten better. Unbeknownst to her, she had also become more open and her stuttering around Naruto had severely lessened.

Tsukihana was still all for talking to Naruto when she could, and she did so every chance she got. Hinata was a bit worried about her disrespecting the rule of dibbs, but she was relieved when the other girl had reassured her that her love was more of a 'look, don't touch' relationship.

Also, Hinata was pleased to note that knowing Naruto didn't stop them from spying on his training. He had gotten really good since the beginning of the school career, but he was far from the best. It had been a few years since it all started, and the teachers were starting to announce the beginning of spars, and Uchiha Sasuke was quickly becoming the best of the class. That was how they found themselves in their current situation.

Tsukihana and Naruto were seated at the desk across from Hinata and Sabishi, and Naruto was freely expressing his opinion about the spars. He opened by slamming his fist on the table in excitement.

"Dammit!" he said, "I bet the Teme thinks he's so cool with his all-out wins. I'll show him later when we have our spar. He won't be so smug then!"

Hinata held up her hands, "P-please settle down, N-Naruto-kun," she pleaded quietly, as Sabishi was starting to get uncomfortable with all the excitement.

Naruto seemed to notice this and scratched his head sheepishly, "Sorry about that, Sabishi."

Sabishi gave a weak smile in answer.

"Well," Naruto said, lowering the volume, "I don't know if you guys realize, but I've been training really hard, and if I can just get a versus match against him, I'm sure that I can prove myself finally!" he looked up with a fiery determination in his eyes.

Hinata didn't like where this was going. She knew that Naruto had some self-esteem issues, and no matter how many times they tried to convince him otherwise, he always seemed to think he needed to prove himself worthy to have friends.

Sabishi surprised her when he raised a trembling finger, "Y-you know, it sh-shouldn't matter wh-what position y-you are in class. You'd r-remain our friend even if y-you ended up being the d-dobe."

Naruto gave him a sad smile, "Thanks, Sabishi," he said, but all three of them could see he didn't believe that. Hinata nodded to the others and the three silently agreed to work on that.

After school, they met together in the classroom to plan out their next move.

"I can't stand it!" Tsukihana ranted, "How is it possible that someone as kind and charismatic as Naruto could have so little self-worth! He is clearly skilled; he has the potential to go really far! We have a lot of work ahead of us."

Hinata frowned, "How exactly do you expect us to fix it if he doesn't believe us when we try to comfort him?"

Tsukihana took up a thinking pose, "It looks like we're going to have to do something big. We have to do something so extravagant that he can't help but to believe us. But what can we do?"

"W-well, I-I'm pretty sure th-that the spar a-against Uchiha-san is destined t-to happen. Maybe we c-can do something a-about that." Sabishi stuttered out.

Tsukihana tilted her head in acknowledgement, "That's a good point. If we act in front of everyone, then he couldn't help but to believe us."

Sabishi stiffened, "You don't mean you want to reveal our club, do you?"

Tsukihana waved him off, "No no no. Perish the thought! I wouldn't dare reveal our secret obsession with Naruto."

Hinata blushed, "I-I wouldn't say obsession."

Tsukihana smiled knowingly, "Of course you wouldn't, cause that would make you sound like a stalker."

Hinata's blush only darkened.

Sabishi smirked, "I-it's okay, Hinata-senpai, we won't tell anyone."

Tsukihana turned to him, "Like you should talk. You're just as bad as her, Satoshi-kun."

Sabishi blushed and looked down.

Tsukihana giggled, "I love doing that!"

Hinata finally recovered and she sent Tsukihana a half-hearted glare, "Can we get back on subject? I want to know how you plan to fix our problem."

Tsukihana smiled sweetly as if she hadn't just been teasing the daylights out of her friends, "Well, we just have to cheer him on during the match!"

Hinata deadpanned, "How is that big? We would have done that anyways."

Tsukihana snickered, "We'll need florescent markers, a giant banner, and a lot of duct tape!"

Hinata started to push her fingers together, "I-I don't like the s-sound of that."

Tsukihana's smile turned feral, making Hinata a little nervous, "C'mon, Hinata-chan, it's for Naruto-kun!"

Hinata blushed and continued her nervous habit, "A-alright. I-If it's for Naruto-kun."

Tsukihana's victorious smirk lit the room.

**XxOxX**

Sabishi sat nervously watching as Tsukihana and Hinata prepared their device that they were going to use to 'subtly' cheer Naruto on. He inwardly sighed. Who was he trying to kid? They were painting a freakin' banner that said "Do your Best, Naruto-kun!" that was so big it would need both he and Hinata to hold it up.

What's worse is that Tsukihana had gotten pompoms that she planned to use to cheer him on. Now Sabishi didn't exactly consider himself an 'expert' on stealth, but even he knew that that was a little less than discreet.

He inwardly cursed his inability to stop her when she had first suggested it. Now he was in too deep and the window to back out was long gone. He could only stew in anticipation as the weapon was prepared. The rumors said that the tournament that led to Sasuke was on Monday, and seeing as it was Friday, that gave them the weekends to prepare the banner for the fight.

If he even tried to assist them in preparing, the two girls would just shoo him off. He sighed again as he stood up and walked toward the door, "I-I'll just go h-home for now s-since I can't be of much help."

Tsukihana smiled up at him from her crouched position over the banner, "Alright, Satoshi-kun! We'll see you tomorrow! We'll show you the banner and you can add something to help show your support."

Sabishi nodded half-heartedly, "Mm-hmm," he grunted non-committedly.

"Have a good night, "Sabishi-kun!" Hinata called to him.

He waved to her as he closed the door. He figured the best thing to do now would be to go home and study. He knew he couldn't go out to spy on Naruto because he would get lonely. He shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets and kept his eyes fixed on the ground as he slowly walked toward his house. His parents would be out again today, so he shouldn't get in trouble for being a little late.

"Oi! Sabishi!" His planning was cut off by a voice behind him and he tried to figure out who was talking to him. No one really tried to speak with him when it didn't involve rumors, so he warily turned around to see who it was, only to brighten immediately when he saw Naruto bounding toward him.

Naruto seemed a bit tense at first, but when he noticed the smile on Sabishi's face, he seemed to relax, and Sabishi inwardly cheered for the fact that he had made his idol feel better. Outwardly, however, he felt his smile dim a bit when he saw the expression on Naruto's face.

"Is something wrong, Naruto-senpai?" he asked.

Naruto looked shocked by the honorific at first, but the shock melted back to worry and he began to rub his toe into the ground, "W-well I was j-just wondering…"

He trailed off and Sabishi was instantly on edge. Naruto didn't stutter. He was the rock that Sabishi built upon, and the idea that something would worry him enough to pick up one of Sabishi's bad habits was worrying in itself.

"What's wrong?" Sabishi asked, worry lacing his voice.

Naruto waved his hands in front of himself, "Nothing's wrong! Honest!" he sighed as if resigning himself and he finally blurted out, "I was just wondering if we could hang out!"

Sabishi was a little taken aback by the request, so he just stared in shock. Unfortunately, Naruto took his silence the wrong way and tried to justify his request, "You know, like friends? I mean, you three are always busy with your club after school, and after I found out about it, you guys said that I couldn't join, so I don't really get to talk with you guys other than at lunch."

Sabishi was still reeling from the comment, but the pleading look in the blonde's eyes brought him back mighty quickly. He smiled, but looked down, "I w-would definitely enjoy y-your company," he said, "I-I'm not v-very big on hanging out th-though, What would you suggest?"

Naruto's face lit up and Sabishi could see the relief in his blue eyes. As the smile split his face he loudly proclaimed, "Awesome! I know this great ramen place downtown!"

Before Sabishi could agree, Naruto took his wrist and led him down the street, and the timid boy couldn't help the small smile that slipped on his face. It looked like all the exciting stuff in his life started when someone dragged him somewhere.

When the other boy finally stopped, Sabishi leaned down to dust himself off, and when he looked up, he smiled at the small quaint ramen stand. It was called Ichiraku's, and if the smells wafting from the shop were any indication, he had a feeling that he was going to like this place.

His thoughts were only confirmed when they walked in and instead of the usual glares sent at Naruto, the old man and girl running the place sent him heart-warming smiles.

"Oi! Oji-san! Ayame-nee-chan! I'm hungry!"

Sabishi was taken aback by the brash statement, and he readied himself to try to defend Naruto as best he could, but his shoulders dropped when the raman shop owner gave a hearty laugh, "I'm glad to see that you haven't lost that spirit!" The man's features pulled up into a bigger smile, but Sabishi was taken aback, when the gaze turned to him and narrowed suspiciously. He did his best to suppress a shudder.

"Who's you're friend?" he asked, his jovial voice not reflecting his intimidating eyes.

Naruto closed his eyes and smiled and slapped Sabishi on the back, causing him to topple forward, "This here's Sabishi! He and two others have been really nice to me at school, and I wanted to invite him over here to thank him."

Naruto looked over to Sabishi to get a confirmation, but he went wide-eyed when he saw the other boy getting up to one knee, "I'm so sorry Sabishi! I keep doing that! I'm so sorry!" Naruto began to panic. He leaned down to help Sabishi up and when Sabishi stood up, Naruto did his best to dust him off.

Sabishi gently pushed his hands away, "I-It's alright, N-naruto-senpai. Y–you just have to r-remember that I'm n-not as strong as y-you."

Teuchi raised an eyebrow, "Senpai? What brought you to refer to him so respectfully?"

Sabishi looked down, biting his thumbnail, "W-well, He is everything that I want to be like. Where I am weak, he is strong. Where I am scared, he is brave, where I am recluse, he is outgoing. He is everything I aspire to be."

There was a nervous cough behind him and Sabishi whirled around to see a blushing Naruto. He immediately went wide-eyed, "I'm so s-sorry! It wasn't my p-place to refer to you like that. I didn't m-mean to upset you," he bowed at the waist, "I'm s-sorry, I was just so used to saying that to Hinata and Tsukihana that-," he clamped his hand over his mouth. Why was he saying so many stupid things today!

He quickly whirled around, blushing, and he made his way to the stools and sat down. If he could take any victory today, it would be in the fact that the man no longer shot suspicious glances at him as it was replaced by humor.

The man smiled, "With how much fondness you speak of him, I'm surprised you aren't calling him –sama instead of –senpai."

Sabishi looked down, "Hinata-senpai said that I sh-shouldn't call him –sama cause it might upset him, so I settled for the next best thing."

The old man snorted and started coughing, as he clearly didn't expect that answer.

It took that long, and Naruto finally seemed to snap out of his stupor and he yelled, "I'm right here, you know! Stop talking about me as if I weren't here!" His anger's effect was lessened by the large blush on his face.

Sabishi turned his stool around and did his best to bow without falling out of his chair, "I-I meant no d-disrespect, I am just so used t-to talking freely with Hinata-senpai and Tsukihana-san that s-sometimes I fall back into that."

Naruto shrugged uncomfortably, "It's alright, I guess, but please try not to do it again."

Sabishi nodded happily and Naruto jumped up beside him. He tried to hide it, but it was clear that Naruto was fidgety about something.

"Are you alright, Naruto-senpai?" He asked worriedly. He really hoped he didn't mess up with the compliments.

Naruto frowned and looked down, "Did you really mean what you said earlier?"

Sabishi blinked in confusion, but then he remembered praising Naruto. He had the sudden urge to blush and bite his thumbnail in nervousness, but one look at Naruto wiped that thought away. The blonde just looked so fragile. As if his very self-worth depended on Sabishi's next words.

This was the side of Naruto he didn't even know existed. This timid, hopeful side shed new light on Naruto. He was no longer the unshakeable pillar that couldn't be toppled. He was no longer the untouchable deity on earth that Sabishi had made him out to be. Now he seemed more…human, and Sabishi could actually see him as that boy who was alone all his life, the boy who hoped for friendship more than anything.

He felt like he could actually talk to him, so he decided to try for it. He opened his mouth and said, "Of course. I meant every word. You are far more amazing than you give y-yourself cr-credit."

Sabishi inwardly cursed himself. He almost made it to the end without stuttering. Fortunately, Naruto didn't seem to notice as he just sat there, slack-jawed. Sabishi was about to apologize for his forwardness again, but he was stopped when he saw the small stream of water leaking from the blonde's eyes.

He became frantic, looking around for an answer for what he should do, but he was stopped by Naruto's next words.

"Thank you."

Sabishi went wide eyed when the blond glomped him and buried his face in his shoulder. At first he didn't know what to do, so he referenced what he saw his mother do in that situation. Sabishi mentally apologized to Hinata as he gently rubbed Naruto's back, whispering soothing words that he remembered his mother using.

They stayed there for a few more seconds before there was the sound of someone clearing their throat. Sabishi looked up quickly and to his embarrassment, Teuchi was looking down at them and smiling. Sabishi mentally thanked whatever deity was out there that the store wasn't busy and they were the only customers.

Naruto seemed to have finally had enough and he got up and sniffed before wiping his tears away, "Sorry about that. Is there anyway we can pretend that didn't happen?" he said weakly.

"Pretend what didn't happen?" Sabishi asked playfully.

"That I broke down and-," he was silenced by Sabishi's pointed look, and he scratched the back of his neck and chuckled sheepishly, "Oh, right. Just kidding."

Sabishi rolled his eyes before he turned to the man behind the counter and smiled, "So, can I get a miso ramen, please?"

The man snorted again and started to cough.

**XxOxX**

Tsukihana looked down to the field and smiled before she leaned over to Hinata and Satoshi, "Today's the day!" she said happily, "We get to finally show him that we're there for him!"

Hinata gave a content sigh and Sabishi smiled nervously. Naruto stepped out on the field and turned to find the three of them. When he locked eyes on them, he waved frantically until they waved back.

Naruto went to his side of the field and waited as the first opponent came out. The tournament was a special event. Because Sasuke was revered as the most powerful academy student, he was given the opportunity to challenge the student body of his class.

They were set into brackets and Naruto's Nomads took it upon themselves to cheer on their favorite blonde. The first few battles were clearly easy for the boy, as he had been saddled up with the weaker opponents. Each time a student fell to Naruto's hands, Naruto's Nomads went wild with cheers. Well, Tsukihana did. The other two just waved the giant banner back and forth in support. When Naruto had first seen the banner, he had nearly tripped and fallen on his face, but he was able to regain himself enough to knock out his opponent.

Tsukihana noticed the red tint on Naruto's ears. The telltale signs of a blush, and she loved every pigment of it. She cheered even harder after that just to get his blush to brighten. Unfortunately, Naruto had seemed to have gotten over his embarrassment and was fighting even harder than he had when he started.

The tournament was nearing its end as Naruto walked up and stopped in front of Sasuke. The final round was at hand and more than a few were surprised that Naruto had beaten so many people. Naruto's Nomads weren't surprised, of course, because they had seen him training all those long hours, and after they had first made contact, he had only started to train harder.

Now the two rivals stood across from each other in a standoff, one smug and silent, and the other jumpy and excited, two polar opposites whose opposing forces clashed with full intensity. Even the wind seemed to pick up and swirl around them as if it too waited in anticipation.

All was silent on the field. A lone wind blew a leaf by as the two eyed each other. Even Iruka, the Chunin instructor, the one with the most skill that was present was nervously awaiting the clash of the two boys. He lifted his hand quickly, and with the drop of his hand, the two were off.

**XxOxX**

Sasuke stared down at the quivering blonde form leaning against a tree. The dobe, the dead last, the loser. These were all titles given to him by the students of the class. These names were all proven wrong today during the battle.

Naruto had been one of the most skilled people he had ever had the pleasure to fight. The blonde was constantly weaving through his attacks and doing his best to counter each blow that Sasuke threw. Of course, in the end, the victor was clear as Sasuke had ended by pinning the blonde to the ground. Sasuke was the winner. He was always the winner.

But this time had been close.

He couldn't remember the last time that he had actually thought he would lose. The possibility was completely foreign to him and it was completely intriguing. He had followed the blonde all over town in hopes of seeing how he ticked.

At first he had been surprised at the villagers because wherever the blonde went, the villagers would glare, or whisper. Sasuke cringed when one got a little graphic and a villager said what the young boy should do, and it involved a razorblade and a corn hose. Needless to say, the man had lost respect from the young Uchiha.

As Naruto made his way deeper into the woods, Sasuke noticed that they were coming into the academy training field. Apparently, the students had all gone home. Sasuke couldn't help but envy the idiot.

When he had first lost his family, he heard the village saying how he should become the next greatest ninja. They said that his skills should surpass all others. Therefore, he complied. Just like they had said, he became the strongest.

He, the great Uchiha was herded into a life he might not have chosen on his own because he couldn't block out the villagers. However, this blonde buffoon, this stupid loser is able to completely lock out their words and ignore them enough to do the opposite of what is said. Naruto had earned the Uchiha's favor.

Just as Sasuke was about to confront the blonde, he stopped and was surprised to see him fall to his knees as silent sobs racked his body. Sasuke began to rethink his previous statement. If the blonde would cry just because he lost a tournament, then maybe he really was as bad as the rumors said. He made a move to jump away, but he was stopped by Naruto's next words.

"I can't believe it's over. I couldn't prove myself and now they're going to abandon me… like everyone else."

Sasuke frowned, "So he was crying because he thought that the loss meant that he would be abandoned? That's a pretty heavy burden to place on a ten year old. Again, he prepared to jump down to ask the boy what he meant, but he was stopped by rustling in some nearby bushes and three people ran out. It was the two girls that didn't bother him and that Sabishi kid.

They ran up to him and kneeled beside him. Sabishi placed a hand on his shoulder and within a quick movement; Naruto had latched onto him and was crying into his waist. Sabishi just whispered soothing words and rubbed his back as if he had done it before.

"I'm sorry," Naruto whispered to the side, "I didn't mean to fail the tournament. Please don't leave me. I'll do better next time."

The three exchanged a look and Sasuke had a feeling that none of them even thought of doing that, which was made even more clear when Sabishi whispered back, "Naruto, you're our friend. We wouldn't abandon you just because you couldn't defeat Sasuke. He is a powerful kid after all."

Naruto sniffed before pulling back, "But you all put that banner and cheering together so that I would win, and I ended up wasting your effort. How could you still want to be my friend?" his breath hitched as a fresh wave of tears fell.

Sabishi gently pushed Naruto back so that he was sitting on his knees. He waited for the other two girls to sit on either side of him before he said, "Naruto, we did that because we wanted you to know that we support you. We meant it as a gift, so there was no way that you could have wasted our effort when you didn't even ask us to do it."

Naruto nodded slowly, "So, you guys aren't ashamed to be my friends?"

The three adamantly shook their heads, and Naruto began to cry again, but this time, it seemed in relief. Sasuke smiled before he turned around and jumped away. He didn't want to intrude on their moment. Tomorrow he would find the answers he wanted.

The next day after school, Sasuke found himself in front of an abandoned classroom. The teacher had told him that Sabishi, Hinata, and Tsukihana met daily after school for their club. When he asked what the club was for, the teacher said that no one was really sure.

That was how he found himself here. He took a deep breath and walked in just in time to hear Tsukihana say, "Today's meeting of Naruto's Nomads, the underground Naruto fan club is about to go under way. First, though, are there any concerns that need to be addressed?

Sasuke stepped out, "I have one," he said, "what the hell is this?"

The three people stared wide eyed and mouth agape at the intruder. Finally, it seemed that Hinata gained her bearings enough and she quietly said, "W-well, this is a meeting where w-we discuss N-Naruto's good qualities and t-try to come up with w-ways to help him."

Sasuke took this new information in and mulled it over. So these guys were actually in a secret fan club that Naruto didn't even know existed. Through this, they were able to help him without drawing attention to themselves. They were able to admire him while he did not know that they were doing it. It was an interesting way to show you liked him without actually showing it.

He sighed in resignation, "Alright, one more question, "How can I join?"

**Owari**

**Ichii Nii San Yon Go Roku Nana Hachi Kyuu Juu…****  
=****  
Bi**


	6. Sasuke

**Chapter 6**

Hinata stared in shock at the boy in front of her. He was considered the most powerful and most popular boy in their class. Yet here he was expressing the desire to join a fan club of all things! What was even stranger was that Naruto claimed himself to be the boy's rival. She had many questions for him, but they all stemmed from the one big query.

"Why?" It was her simple word. There was no accusations, no suspicions, just utter confusion. She and the other two stared at Sasuke in pure bewilderment.

Sasuke looked down and scoffed as he scuffed his toe on the ground and Hinata swore she could have seen a flash of red on his face, but she let it slide as he spoke, "I just think he's pretty cool after what I saw when we fought. I followed him and heard those nasty things from the village, and yet he was strong through the whole thing.

The only contact he seemed to have gotten was negative except for a small group, and the way he fights for those bonds is inspiring. He stayed strong against the insults, and the only reason that he broke down was because he thought that he had lost those bonds," He continued in a more subdued voice, "And I heard you say that this club was secret, so I didn't have to actually act like a fan boy around him."

The realization hit Hinata and she gasped, "You were spying on Naruto-kun?" she said, sharing her shock. She was completely scandalized, "That's an invasion of privacy!"

That is until she saw Sabishi and Tsukihana's deadpanned looks, "Yeah," Tsukihana drawled, "Who would be evil enough to sneak into the woods and spy on Naruto-kun from behind a tree?"

Hinata lit up at the words, but she stopped when Sasuke spoke, "Actually," he said quietly, "I was hiding in some bushes."

Tsukihana snorted, and Sabishi couldn't help the small smile while Hinata remained red, but this time, it was holding in her laughter. It wasn't so much a hilarious statement. They were laughing to diffuse the situation. However, they still had a problem to deal with.

Hinata and Sabishi turned to Tsukihana, as she was the one who did the talking outside the club. She sighed and threw her hands up in exasperation before turning to Sasuke, "Alright, we don't mind that you join our club, but we need to test how genuine you are."

Tsukihana was speaking so seriously that Sasuke was starting to squirm and Hinata and Sabishi shared an amused glance. Hinata never knew how funny it was to make someone uncomfortable when it was unnecessary. Of course she would never do that herself.

Tsukihana continued, oblivious to their thoughts, "For your initiation, we need to make sure that you can stomach what we do here. You will be subject to our schedule of activity, and if you are unable to keep up, then we may revoke your membership, but if you were to leave, you are not allowed to reveal what you see here. We have a powerful sealing method to make sure you don't share."

Sasuke gulped, but put on a brave front, "Alright. I am willing to undergo this sealing method, as you have caught my interest. What do I need to do?"

Tsukihana nodded, "You must hold out your pinky."

Sasuke reluctantly held out his hand and stuck his pinky out and before he could react, Tsukihana reached out and wrapped her pinky around his and she smiled, "Pinky swear!"

She burst out laughing, Hinata giggled and Sabishi snickered.

Sasuke, realizing he had just been had, crossed his arms and looked away, probably in attempt to hide his rising blush, "Alright! Okay, so you'll let me check this out?"

Tsukihana dropped her jocular mood quickly, "Yes. Your initiation will begin on Friday as I want to show you our darkest activity before you get into the rest."

Sasuke nodded reluctantly.

**XxOxX**

The week flew by fast for Sabishi, as he was assigned the task of preparing the schedule, and his work always seemed to speed up time. Usually, they would have just invited him to their club activities, but Sasuke's idea of 'secret fan club' had a different meaning. Sasuke made it very clear that he didn't want to even appear to be friends with Naruto, let alone a fan boy.

That took out having lunch with him, and also, Sasuke couldn't cheer him on during sparring matches. This left Sabishi with the task to find a way for Sasuke to participate in their activities. They were fine with keeping the same when it came to their discussions on how to help Naruto, and the spying trips. He just had to find alterations for the others.

Eventually, he organized what he figured to be the best approach to their dilemma and created a table to help. He would just have to wait until after class when they went out to spy. He could share when the others were around.

When Iruka finally let them out, the four met in the classroom in anticipation. Even with the reassurance that it wasn't too bad, Sasuke was on edge because Tsukihana had referred to the spying as the 'darkest activity.' While technically, it was their darkest activity; Sabishi couldn't help but wonder if she could have phrased it better.

"Alright, so," Tsukihana began, "For this to work, you're going to have to be extra stealthy as to not alert him of our presence."

"Who?" he asked.

Tsukihana and Hinata shushed him.

Finally, they pointed toward the clearing and Sasuke's eyes went wide, "Is that-,"

"Shush!" Tsukihana hissed. And Sasuke's mouth snapped shut. The three nodded to him and he turned back to Naruto. As they watched Naruto train, it was very obvious that Sasuke was trying not to look impressed, a feat that he happen to be failing at the moment. Sasuke just watched the way that Naruto trained and Sabishi took some irrational pleasure in the fact that his countenance just screamed that he was impressed by Naruto.

Sabishi saw familiar signs that his training was coming to an end and he turned around to give Naruto privacy for when he stripped down and jumped into the lake. He was about to warn Sasuke about it, but he was interrupted by a thump. He whipped around frantically to see Sasuke laying on the ground with a nosebleed.

He waited until Naruto finished and left before he shouted, "Not you too!" he then realized who he was shouting at and he looked down abashedly, "M-My apologies, Uchiha-san. It's j-just that Hinata-senpai and Tsukihana-san did th-the same and I'm w-worried that there might be s-something in the air o-over here or something."

Sasuke shook his head, "No, there's nothing in the air. You are probably safe for now as long as you don't come in contact with rabid animals," Sabishi noticed him glare into the forest, but decided to brush it off for now. He scratched his head, but he was sure that Sasuke probably knew what he was talking about, so he just nodded and turned to the girls, which by this time, had started giggling for some unknown reason.

He shrugged and turned back towards the school, followed by the other three. The upside to having a club in an abandoned classroom was that Iruka let them have meetings even if school was out, but they had to leave before the last teacher left.

As the four sat down, Tsukihana seemed to be looking over Sasuke with a critical eye, "So," she began, "What did you think?"

Sasuke squirmed a little under her gaze, but returned it eventually, "I will admit that I'm impressed by him, and it only solidified my desire to find out more about him, but truth be told, I am unsure as to what I can do since I don't want him to know I'm doing anything."

Sabishi lit up, "I-I was looking o-over what you said and I-I think I-I may have a-a solution. For your b-bento assignment, I-I think that we can d-deliver yours for you and tell Naruto-senpai that you couldn't come," Sasuke nodded and he continued, "As for the cheering for him d-during spars. You d-don't have to. Instead, compliment him o-on his form, or his a-ability. He may reject it at f-first as he will surely think y-you're trying to p-patronize him, b-but he shouldn't stay suspicious for too long. Y-you can then help him tr-train while he's s-sparring against you."

Sasuke nodded, "That sounds like a plan, but what was that about a bento assignment?"

Tsukihana lit up, "Oh yeah! We forgot to tell you. But we also make bento boxes and give them to Naruto during lunch and we join him as he eats. As for your bento assignment, you have to make a bento box and we will present it to him."

"Oh," he said, "I guess I can do that."

She nodded, "Alright, We'll meet up tomorrow before school as to not tip your fan girls. After school, we can meet in the club room and fill you in on what we learn during lunch."

Sasuke reluctantly nodded and they each left.

**XxOxX**

The next morning, Tsukihana met up with the other three and volunteered to carry Sasuke's bento. It was wrapped in a bandana that was half white half red. They waited, and as Iruka released them, Naruto had bolted straight toward their table. Ever since the incident in the forest, Naruto had only brightened at their presence and it seemed that the boy's fears of abandonment were soothed for now.

He practically bounced to the seat across from them and they put his bento boxes out while pulling out their own lunches. Naruto was about to dig in, but he stopped when he noticed the extra. He looked up at them, frowning, "Hey you guys, there's one more. Did one of you guys forget to pick up your lunch?"

Satoshi shook his head, "N-no. I actually talked t-to my friend, Fumei and he said that h-he liked what we w-were doing and he w-wanted to help, so he also made you a lunch."

Naruto lit up, "Well that's awesome! I'll have to thank him when I meet him!"

The three exchanged a glance, unbeknownst to the blonde.

"So what's new?" Tsukihana asked.

Naruto smiled, "I have a new goal!" he shouted happily.

Tsukihana quirked an eyebrow, "oh?"

Naruto nodded vigorously, "Yeah! I was over at the tower talking to jiji and I asked what it was like for him to run the village, and he said that his job was more than that. He told me that his job was meant to protect everyone, and I thought that I too would want to protect you guys, so I decided that I'm going to become Hokage just like him, and I'll protect all you guys!"

Tsukihana had taken that time to quietly sip from her thermos, and after the blonde's boisterous proclamation, the contents in her mouth spewed all over the table.

This caused Naruto to frown and look down, "You don't think I can do it?" he asked, disappointed.

Tsukihana shook her head frantically, "No! I totally think you can do it! If there's anyone who can do it, I bet you can," Naruto looked up slowly, and she took it as a cue to continue. She rubbed her neck sheepishly, "I was just a bit surprised that you called the Hokage 'jiji.' He's, like, the most powerful ninja in the village."

Naruto shrugged, "He's been Jiji since I could remember, so it's not too different from what I usually call him."

Satoshi smiled, "That's a v-very admirable dream, N-Naruto-senpai. I can't w-wait until you do become Hokage. Then I'm going to be friends w-with someone famous."

Naruto smiled, "Maybe I can get, like, VIP passes for our group."

Tsukihana squealed, "Totally! But you can't forget us when you get famous!"

Naruto was taken aback, completely scandalized, "I would never!"

The four snickered and continued the conversation until the end of the lunch hour. The rest of the day passed by with no trouble and when they met up after school, Tsukihana headed to the classroom and was surprised to see that she had been the last to get there. Even Sasuke had made it. She smiled at the room and opened the next meeting and they filled Sasuke in on what they had learned.

Sasuke scoffed, "Hokage, huh? From what you've told me, he doesn't need much help getting there. He's definitely got the charisma."

Tsukihana rolled her eyes, "You know that, I know that, and Hinata-chan and Satoshi-kun know that, but Naruto-kun does not know that. We need to convince him."

Sasuke harrumphed and crossed his arms.

Tsukihana smiled at him and turned to address all of them, "Alright! So on to the next subject…"

**XxOxX**

Sasuke had mixed feelings as he made his way down the barren streets that led to his broken home district. On one hand, Naruto had proven to be a very capable warrior, and he could easily gain support from the most unlikely sources.

However, He had also proven himself to have a weak spirit. To be easily discouraged by the idea that his friends didn't like him. Someone like that surely wasn't worth his time.

Then again, Naruto had proven his strong will every day that he faced the glares and whispering of the villagers. Seriously! It's like, what even is a corn hose?

So his many good points were evened out by ones of negative quality. There was really no absolute certain way for him to go. He just thought back to his experience with the blonde over the week in hopes of discovering a turning point.

First, they had spied on him training. The way he moved was very graceful and his strikes were precise and deadly. He would have admired his fighting form the whole time if it hadn't been for that damn squirrel.

Naruto had reached for the bottom of his shirt, but before Sasuke could see what he was doing, the furry little hell spawn threw an acorn straight at his face and hit him spot on, giving him a bloody nose and knocking him out. At least he could have solace in the fact that Sabishi had said that Hinata and Tsukihana were also attacked by the thing. He took some unreasonable pleasure when he referred to it as a rabid animal and he could have sworn that the thing had flipped him off.

After that, he had worked really hard on that bento box. He knew that he wasn't the best cook, but he still did what he could, and when they had told him that Naruto had been very happy with his box, he was exceedingly pleased.

Then it came time for the spar, and Sasuke had done as Sabishi had suggested and he offered assistance on Naruto's stance. At first, he thought that Sasuke was making fun of him, but after he actually tried it, Naruto became more comfortable with it and more readily took his advice.

The rest of the day, Naruto had just acted stupid. There was no better way to put it. He had pranked Iruka again and slept through class, all the while keeping up his animated grin.

Sasuke crossed his arms and grunted in frustration. This is a tough decision. From the outside, Naruto just appears to be a hot headed idiot, but from what he was told and when he actually studied, Naruto was extremely skilled. His whole demeanor just screamed messy while his actions broadcasted maturity, almost like organized chaos.

He closed his eyes in resignation and nodded his head. He was definitely going to look into this more. It looks like Naruto's Nomads gained a new member.

**Owari**

**I don't know if you noticed or not, but my favorite letter to stutter with is 'W'**


	7. Surprise Surprise

**Chapter 7**

"On to the next subject!"

Hinata sighed as she sat through the usual topics that Tsukihana announced. Each one was the same old thing. Naruto did this. We want him there. Blah blah blah. She almost even dozed off. While she was usually up to anything related to Naruto, at the moment, she found her mind wandering back to the training ground and she could only wonder what her blonde idol was doing at the moment.

Her eyelids started to flutter, but she was brought back by a resounding crack on her desk, and she looked up in shock to see an annoyed Tsukihana.

"Wow," she said, "Now I know how Iruka-sensei feels."

Hinata blushed in embarrassment and attempted to save face, "W-well, is there anything n-new that I should know?"

Tsukihana smiled devilishly and Hinata began to regret her question, "Well, my dear Hinata-chan. As you know, I have been doing some snooping around about our little blonde, and I have found very important information that may affect our club."

Hinata raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

Tsukihana huffed and put her hands on her hips, "If you had been paying attention, then you would know what it was. I mean, even Satoshi-kun was paying attention."

"Hey!" came Sabishi's indignant squawk.

Tsukihana waved him off, "Anyways! As you know, October is coming up, and I just happen to find an interesting tidbit of something that happens around then.

"Th-the Kyuubi festival?"

Tsukihana frowned, "Now that you mention it, yes. In fact, now that I think about it, what I'm talking about happens on the same day." She furrowed her brow in contemplation, "It's no wonder that we don't see him out during the Kyuubi Festival."

Hinata frowned, "Y-you do realize th-that I still have n-no idea what you're talking about."

Tsukihana grinned sheepishly, "Heh heh, sorry about that," she straightened, "Well, on the day in question is Naruto's birthday!"

Hinata gasped in shock. How could she have not even known his birthday? After several years of stalk-I mean, observing him, how could she have missed it?

Tsukihana nodded, seemingly reading her mind, "I know, I know, I was shocked that it took me so long to find it out."

Sasuke spoke up, "So what, you guys want to throw him a party or something?" The three gave him a deadpan look, making him sweat drop, "So's that a yes?"

Tsukihana rubbed her hands together, "Oh this is going to be fun. As you guys know, the actual day is a few days away, so we have plenty of time to prepare. Hinata!" she turned to the girl in question, "I have a list of supplies that I need you to grab. I have already asked Iruka-sensei and he said that we could use the clubroom to throw our surprise party, so we'll start on the decorating while you're gone." She shoved a list in the timid girls hand before turning her around and pushing her out the door, "Now, shoo!"

Hinata sighed good-naturedly as she made her way toward the store. Her list consisted of streamers, party hats, and other gizmos to use as party favors. She entered into the store and saw a flash of orange before she was knocked down onto her butt. As the haze from her collision was clearing up, she heard a gasp.

"I'm so sorry, Hinata-chan!" she felt a strong hand clasp her own and pull her up. She blinked a few times and she jumped back with a start when she saw a familiar shock of blond hair.

"Hinata-chan, are you okay? You're turning red again. I hope you aren't getting sick." Naruto said to her.

She looked away quickly. _Don't faint. Don't faint. Don't faint. _For an added help, she pictured her friends beside her cheering encouraging words. She sighed in relief as the feeling of lightheadedness started to fade.

"I-I'm fine, N-Naruto-kun," she said, "You just c-caught me by surprise."

Naruto frowned, "Sorry about that," his face lit up again, "I know! I'll help you with your shopping to say I'm sorry!"

Hinata's cool went right out the window at the thought of spending a day with Naruto and she lit up like a red light bulb and promptly passed out. The last thing she heard was a frantic Uzumaki calling her name.

Her eyes fluttered open and she was shocked to see a worried Naruto peering down at her. When he saw that she was awake, he broke into a flurry of frantic questions of if she was okay, if she was sick, if she was injured or stuff like that.

"I-I'm fine, N-Naruto-kun," she said, then she blushed again, "I-if you w-wanted to come shop with me, I-I w-wouldn't mind."

Naruto smiled, "Great! Whatcha shoppin' for?"

Hinata gasped. She had just offered to let Naruto shop for his own birthday party. She was going to have a difficult time getting past him. Then again…

"Well," she began, "I'm out shopping for a birthday party that's coming up."

Naruto began bouncing on the balls of his feet, "Really? When is it? Who's it for? Do I know them? How old will they be?"

Hinata snickered at his barrage of questions. She loved him, she knew that, but even she had to admit he wasn't exactly the sharpest one out there, "W-Well. It's soon. I don't w-want to share who it's for yet. You do know th-them. And they'll be eleven."

Naruto jumped up and down, "Awesome! I want to get them a present too! What do they like?"

Hinata shrugged, "I-I'm not sure."

Naruto went downcast, but he brightened quickly, "Maybe they'll become my friend too if I get them a present! Since I don't know what they like, I'll get them ramen! That's a good fail safe."

Hinata smiled, "Alright, w-we can stop by Ichiraku's when this is o-over. We can even get a b-bowl while we're there."

"Sure!" he chirped.

Hinata turned away to hide her blush. Did she just ask him out on a date and he happily agreed? Oh she was so good! Soon, he would be hers! She quickly sat up from the park bench he had laid her on and made a reach for her list, only for it to be snatched up by her blonde companion.

"Ah ah ah. I'm here to help, so I'm going to do most of this!"

Hinata smiled and followed him back to the store. As the day went by, Hinata found her shopping trip more exciting than it usually was. Naruto would carry all the bags and tell stories to make her laugh. The whole day, she just felt like she was flying. She almost regretted it as they walked up to Ichiraku's. Almost.

As he placed the items in a corner and the two jumped up onto adjacent stools, Hinata couldn't help the bright blush that came from their close proximity. That is, until Naruto spoke.

"Oi! Oji-san, Ayame-nee-chan, I'm hungry!"

Hinata frowned at his impoliteness, but the hearty laugh from the man stopped her reprimand, "It's nice to see you again, Naruto-kun," The old man gained a devilish grin, "Who's your date? She's very pretty."

This caused the two pre-teens to sputter indignantly while Hinata's face lit up even more. After a few seconds to compose himself, Naruto wailed, "Oji-san! Hinata-chan's just my friend! Don't be a weird old perv."

Hinata felt her heart sink at the declaration. Of course she was only his friend. He probably wouldn't even want to date her. She couldn't do anything right. Now he was going to hate her , then he would push her away, then her membership to Naruto's Nomad's would be revoked, then-

"Oi! Hinata-chan! Are you alright?" Naruto was waving his hand in front of her face, unknowingly interrupting her deteriorating thoughts.

She 'eeped' and almost fell off of her stool, but Naruto caught her, "Careful, there." He said gently.

She blushed again at the contact. _Don't faint. Don't faint. Don't faint._ She waited until she didn't feel woozy anymore and she sat up slowly, "S-Sorry about that, N-Naruto-kun," she said.

The old man behind the counter scratched his chin, "Say, are you the same Hinata that Sabishi-kun talks about?"

Hinata brightened up at her friend's name, but she hid it behind her bangs, "S-Sabishi-kun? Does h-he come here often?"

He snickered, "Ever since the first time a few weeks ago, it seems that Naruto brings him in every chance he gets. Those two seem to be really getting along."

Naruto smiled, "Well, Oji-san, this is Hinata-chan! She's also my friend! I'll also have to bring Tsukihana-chan in so she can meet you too!"

The man brightened, "Oh? You have another friend?"

Naruto nodded eagerly, "Yup! It's so cool! I practically have my own fan club like Sasuke-teme!"

Hinata snorted and began to choke on her water. This of course caused Naruto to become frantic and he patted her on the back, "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan! I was just joking!" he cried.

She giggled and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, "I-It's alright, Naruto-kun."

Naruto sighed in relief and Hinata giggled again. He had no idea how close he was to the truth with his statement. She turned to Naruto and braced herself, "S-so, Naruto-kun, tell me a-about yourself."

Naruto cocked his head to the side in concentration and Hinata started to think about how cute he looked, "Hmm. There's not much to say. I don't have that many friends, so I don't go out that much." Before Hinata could wince, Naruto brightened up, "I know! I'll tell you about the latest prank!" Hinata nodded, happy for the subject change and he took it as a sign to continue, "So anyways, there was this guy with this really bad toupee…"

"…and I made this huge explosion that sent them all flying and they never even knew it was me!" Hinata giggled at his story, and she opened her mouth to comment and ask for another story, but she stopped when she noticed the sun setting. Naruto seemed to notice this too, so he smiled, "Well, Hinata, it was really nice talking to you, but I have to go home now. We should go out together again later."

Little did he know, those were the worst words he could have used at that time. As soon as he said it, he turned to leave, so he did not see the poor little girl slump to the floor in blissful unconsciousness. Fortunately, she was in a corner, so she didn't fall in front of someone and get trampled. The old ramen stand owner smiled at the timid little girl and he walked over to gently wake her up.

Her eyes fluttered open and he smiled, "My apologies, Hyūga-san, but I need to close up soon. Naruto has already gone home.

Hinata looked downcast, "Oh," she then brightened again as she remembered Sabishi's request, "Oh yeah, I-I wanted to ask i-if you had c-catering as a service."

The old man quirked an eyebrow, "I don't think I've done it before, but I suppose I could try."

Hinata smiled up at him, "G-great. W-we're throwing N-naruto-kun a surprise b-birthday party, and Sabishi-kun asked m-me to see if you w-would be w-willing to provide the food for the event."

His smile widened, "I would have loved to try, and the fact that it's for Naruto-kun's first party makes me even more eager to try. I'll even give you a discount! Th' name's Teuchi Ichiraku and we have a deal."

"Hinata Hyūga," she took his hand and shook, but when she pulled back, she frowned, "W-what do you mean his first party?"

Teuchi frowned, "Naruto-kun hasn't had a real birthday party before."

Hinata stood up quickly and spoke frantically, "Thank you for the help Teuchi-san. I will contact you with information on the party later. I need to make it to an appointment before it's too late."

Teuchi waved as she rounded the corner.

**XxOxX**

Sabishi was putting up some of the last of the decorations when the door to the clubroom slammed open. Hinata burst in, overly flustered.

"I-is everything a-alright, Hinata-senpai?" he asked.

"No!" she cried, "Naruto-kun has never had a birthday party before!"

Tsukihana gasped from her spot atop the seat in the back of the room, "Truly? Oh Kami it's a good thing we got to him when we did!" she took up a thinking pose, "We're going to have to work extra hard on the party to make sure it's perfect!"

Sasuke snorted derisively, "How exactly do you plan to do that? There are only four of us and it will be difficult to convince anyone else to attend. After all, No one in our class really likes Naruto due to parents keeping them away."

Tsukihana sent him a dirty look, causing him to cringe.

Sabishi waved his hand, "I-I have an i-idea."

He shared and the four of them prepared for the party. The days flew by as they made their preparations, but it seemed the day was finally coming up. It was the day of the party and Sabishi was seated in his usual spot, stewing in anticipation for the party after school. By popular vote, Sabishi was nominated the best person to distract Naruto long enough for them to put up the finishing touches. As Iruka was releasing them from the last period, Sabishi walked over to Naruto's desk.

"H-hello, Naruto-senpai," he said quietly, "I-I was wondering i-if you would like to join me at Ichiraku's."

Naruto brightened up, "Sure! It's always fun to have more company. I'm just a bit surprised that you are the one asking this time."

Sabishi smiled weakly, "I-I just wanted t-to hang out today before the Kyuubi Festival starts later."

Naruto blanched, "Kyuubi Festival? That's tonight? I might not be able to come then. I need to be out of sight when it starts."

Sabishi went downcast, and Naruto seemed to notice and became frantic. He started waving his hands around and plastered a fake smile on his face, "It's fine! I'm sure nothing will happen while we hang out."

Sabishi smiled and he turned around to lead Naruto away. The two boys made their way down the street, talking about nothing important. When they finally made it to the restaurant, Naruto furrowed his brow when he saw the shutters closed. There was a paper taped to the front and it said:

**Closed for the Kyuubi Festival**

Naruto frowned, "Wow, this day just gets better and better."

Sabishi put a hand on his shoulder, "I-It's alright, Naruto-senpai. I'm sure that we could talk in the club room at school."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow, "But I thought that I wasn't allowed into that club."

Sabishi did his best to wave it off, "It's alright. It should be done with the club, and you didn't want to be outside so it's a good escape."

Naruto seemed to think about it before he nodded happily, "Okay, I guess that sounds good. I wouldn't mind."

Sabishi smiled," Great!" He grabbed Naruto's wrist and pulled him toward the academy. Minutes later found the two standing in front of the dark class room. Sabishi reached for the door and gently pulled it open, letting a small sliver of light leak in.

Sabishi flipped the switch on, and everyone jumped out.

"Surprise!"

Sabishi looked beside him to see his friend's reaction, but he was shocked to see no one there. He looked around frantically and snorted when he looked up and saw a trembling Naruto hanging from a light fixture,

"What's going on?" Naruto squeaked.

Sabishi looked down and rubbed his toe in the ground, "W-well, we found out that y-your birthday w-was today and we w-wanted to throw you a surprise b-birthday party."

Naruto went wide eyed and flipped to the ground. He looked between Sabishi and the room full of smiling people. His face lit up in a brilliant smile before he tackle-hugged Sabishi.

"Thank you Thank you Thank you." He yelled before running into the room to mingle. Sabishi led him around showing him what was what.

"Hinata and Tsukihana teamed up with Fumei and the three decorated the club room. Iruka-sensei happily joined the celebration and we were able to get Teuchi-san and Ayame-san to provide food. They even made a cake for you!"

Naruto was practically glowing, "You guys are the coolest friends ever!"

The group sat down, smiling at Naruto as Teuchi and Ayame brought around ramen to serve. The smell of broth and sound of laughter filled the air as they listened to Naruto's storied of his latest pranks. Iruka even promised not to get onto him for them since he was the birthday boy. The group was so enthralled in Naruto's latest escapade that they almost didn't register when the cake was brought out.

Teuchi had been very meticulous with it and created a cake shaped like a tipped over ramen bowl. The two '1' shaped candles were set up to look like the chopsticks.

Naruto gasped, "It's so beautiful!"

The room was filled with good-natured laughter, "Thank you, Naruto-kun," Teuchi said, "I wanted to make it the best it could be since it's such a special occasion. After all, if you hadn't been born, then we all wouldn't be as happy as we are now."

Naruto blushed and looked down, "Thank you." He said quietly.

Tsukihana decided to speak up, "Okay, so! Blow out the candles and make a wish!"

Naruto smiled at her, "I'm as happy as I can get. There's not really anything more I need right now."

Tsukihana pushed him playfully, "Quit being so corny and just do the deed," she said.

Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes before he smiled and blew out the candle. He looked around, beaming and Tsukihana interrupted again.

"Presents!" she yelled.

Iruka laughed as he wheeled the cart full of wrapped gifts. Naruto's eyes went wider as he saw the cart, "I-is that all for me?" he stammered. His answer was a bright smile and he jumped up to help move the presents onto the floor next to his chair.

His first was a gift wrapped in a paper with that same strawberry pattern on Tsukihana's lunchbox. His face lit up as he pulled out training shuriken and weights. Next he pulled out a simple silver present from Iruka. When he pulled it open, he smiled that Iruka had gotten him some story books.

He was surprised when Teuchi came up to him and handed him two tickets for an all you can eat buffet. He gave a questioning glance, "Why two?"

Teuchi smiled, "Do you recall that time you were shopping with Hyūga-san and you told her you were going to get ramen for her friend with a birthday?"

Naruto's eyes went wide and he looked over at Hinata, "You mean that was for me? You've been planning this for so long?"

At the girl's timid nod, his smile brightened. The next gift was given by a boy in a high collared green coat and sunglasses. He also wore a large baseball cap with small strands of black hair poking out. Tsukihana clapped him on the back and smiled, "This here is Fumei. He's got a present for you too."

Sasuke in his disguise reached out and handed Naruto a scroll tied with a gold string. Naruto eagerly opened it and was delighted to find that it was a new training exercise he could use. He happily shook Sasuke's hand and reached for the next one. He unwrapped the box and scratched his head at the small cylindrical container.

"What is it?" he asked.

Sabishi stepped forward, "W-well, I asked Hinata-senpai to help m-me and she let me u-use her herb garden to m-make you some healing salve n-in case you are injured during training."

Naruto beamed, and seeing that there were no more presents available, he exclaimed, "You guys are the greatest! Thanks so much for everything!"

Tsukihana nudged Hinata forward and she stuttered out, "N-Naruto-kun, Th-that's n-not a-all th-that we g-got for you."

Naruto perked up, "Huh?"

Hinata blushed and pulled Naruto out and behind the school beside the swing that she knew he usually sat on. Tsukihana motioned toward the boys and the three of them snuck into the bushed to listen in. Tsukihana was so excited because when they had planned to make this the best birthday party, Tsukihana had convinced Hinata to finally confess her love to the young blonde. She held in a squeal of delight as Hinata turned to him, blushing.

"W-well," she began, "Th-there's something that I-I've wanted to say for a while."

Naruto quirked his head to the side, "What do you need Hinata-chan?"

Hinata took a deep breath and she reached in her pocket and pulled out a beautiful green gem necklace, "Naruto-kun I just wanted to say that you are one of the greatest people I know. You're so kind and brave and hardworking, and you never give up. I just wanted to let you know that-."

Tsukihana brightened and leaned in close…

"-Our small group thinks that you are wonderful."

Tsukihana fell on her face. _That little weasel, _she thought, _She still didn't confess her love_.

"I wanted to give this to you to remind you how special you are to all of us and that we don't want you to change ever."

She placed the gem in the awestruck blonde's hands and she bowed.

Naruto looked at the necklace before looking at the girl in front of him then switching between the two. Tsukihana sighed. It was clear that she wasn't going to confess so that meant there was no need for a private moment.

When she walked into the clearing, she saw that Hinata had become frantic and she was standing over a crying Naruto. Thinking something was wrong, Tsukihana and the others ran up to him. They immediately leaned down to check on the blonde, but when he looked up, the smile on his face was almost blinding, and before anyone could react, Naruto jumped up and embraced them in a gigantic tackle group hug.

"Thank you!" he cried.

**XxOxX**

Sasuke made his way down the road, thinking about the events that transpired. After Naruto had finally let them go, they had continued, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Sasuke was just glad that Naruto was too dense to recognize his voice. He was happy to say that his identity remained intact.

He couldn't help thinking about the party. The fact that they were able to bring such happiness to such a frail boy made him smile. The party would have to be called a success. He figured that another 'mission' assigned by that Tsukihana would be all wrapped up.

He really had no qualms with helping Naruto. That is, of course, if he wasn't caught. After spending time observing him and seeing him react to unreasonable situations, Sasuke had found his respect slowly growing for the boy. He could only sigh as he turned into his empty compound and rounded the corner. If only all of the plans could go this well.

**Owari**

**This actually took me a while to do because I would get halfway through before scrapping the whole thing. I did that a few times. I'm starting to run out of ideas, so I might end this story soon with a nice ending that doesn't discontinue it. I'm still not sure if I'm going to add Shino or not.**

**K,bye!**


	8. Genin Exams

**Chapter 8**

"Alright, everybody! Settle down!" Iruka called from the front of the class, "It's time to start the ninjutsu portion of the genin exam. When I call your name, please step forward and perform the three basic techniques."

Hinata turned to the other three and smiled. Naruto was practically bouncing out of his chair and Tsukihana was smiling fondly at him. Sabishi was his normal reserved self. They didn't look nervous at all. She was excited about it too. They had each done their own training. Hinata was sure that Naruto knew about his lack of skill with the clone jutsu, so she was sure that he was working on it in his spare time.

"Gekkō Sabishi!" Iruka called.

With a small smile, Sabishi quickly jumped down and made his way toward the testing room. Hinata could only smile at how far he had come since the beginning of school. It seems just like yesterday when he had been absolutely terrified of her. Now it was several years later and he was very open with their small group, even if he had been scared of everyone else.

She smiled down at where he would exit. Sabishi was definitely a shoe in for the graduation. No matter how much he denied it, he was definitely the most talented of their ragtag little posse. This is why she wasn't surprised at all when he walked out with the shiny new headband tied around his neck.

"Woo! Way to go, Sabishi!" Naruto called down to him, causing said boy to look down, blushing in embarrassment. He made his way up the stairs toward them and sat down in time to hear the next name.

"Hyūga Hinata!" Iruka called.

Hinata smiled and stepped up to walk toward the exam room. Through that short walk, she couldn't help but to think of how far she had come as well. She could remember back when she was that small frail child that would look for anyone to prove that progress was possible. She could only smile at the fact that the person she was looking for was the hyperactive blond boy.

While she knew that she still needed confidence, she was also well aware that her confidence was much higher than how it used to be with the combination of new friends and their idol. Over the years, she had slowly grown a backbone, and while she was still unable to stand up to her father, she had made it very clear to the school bullies that she was no longer the timid little target that she was previously. She remembered the last time they tried to pick on her and she had released her newly learned taijutsu skills. They went home crying.

Iruka smiled as she entered, "Please perform the Bunshin, the Kawarimi, and the Henge."

Hinata nodded and did as he said. She smiled down at the newly acquired headband and tied it around her neck as Sabishi did with his. When she walked out, her calm was blown when Naruto started jumping around cheering for her. She looked down and blushed.

"Way to go!" Tsukihana cheered, slapping her on the back as she sat down beside them. The four sat around chatting. He was hiding it well, but Hinata could see that Naruto was nervous. She gently placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder and smiled, "It'll be alright, Naruto-kun. You've been training so much that I doubt that you'll have trouble."

Naruto gave her a soft smile that nearly melted her heart and she was glad to feel some of his shoulder tension lessen a little, "Thanks Hinata-chan." He said softly.

Behind Naruto's back, in full view of Hinata, Tsukihana was making lovey dovey faces and making kissing gestures at her. Unfortunately, Hinata didn't want Naruto to notice her doing it, so she was unable to respond to the girl's taunting. She pulled back and glared at Tsukihana. The girl waved it off with ease and moved on to another subject. The four of them talked quietly as they waited for the next person to go up.

"Ro Tsukihana!" Iruka called and Hinata waved to the girl as she left the room. Moments later, the red-head exited the exam room with the shiny new Hitai-ate threaded through her belt loops. Hinata smiled at her as she also joined the group. From what she experienced, Tsukihana hadn't really changed that much. She was still a fan girl, but now she hid it well and her target had changed. Now instead of praising the Uchiha like everyone else, she had moved to the more subtle Uzumaki.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" Iruka called. Speak of the devil…

He calmly strutted into the exam room, causing many fan girls to scream his name. As he closed the door, Hinata couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips. Over the years, Sasuke had probably come the farthest of all of them. He was no longer as arrogant and he usually helped out when needed. His identity as Fumei remained as Naruto still hadn't figured out that he had a fan club, and Sasuke wasn't too keen on informing him.

She could remember a few times that Naruto's pride had almost put the two of them in undesirable situations. Because Naruto claimed him as his rival, Sasuke could only ignore him and hope he gave up. Unfortunately, Naruto never did and they grew to have intense competitions between the two. One of the more devious classmates tried to take advantage of these in the most dishonorable ways.

Hinata thought back to the last event that just happen to take place moments before the exam started. When they had entered, Sasuke was brooding with the girls cooing over him. Naruto didn't like it so much, so he jumped up on Sasuke's desk and looked him right in the eyes and the two had a glaring match. It was then that Hinata noticed one of the students creeping toward Naruto. From the looks of it, it seemed like he was going to push him forward so that he would fall on Sasuke. She gulped because with the way that the two were positioned, Naruto would end up lip-locking with Sasuke and thereby gaining the wrath of every watching fan girl along with ones that would be informed later.

She tried to yell out to Naruto, but Tsukihana jumped in front of her and sent the kid flying. Sasuke and Naruto had looked terribly confused and Hinata giggled. It wasn't how she would have handled it, but it worked just as well if not better.

Sasuke soon strolled out of the room just as calmly with his Hitai-ate firmly tied to his head. He sent a small smile up to their group and the three of them returned it without alerting Naruto. Along with his growth in maturity, Sasuke's time spent in their club had given them the opportunity to become friends, and that was probably the closest he had gotten with anyone in the class.

This all remained secret under the class's noses. As far as they were concerned, Sasuke was still the cold antisocial bastard that he always was. It was all his idea.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Iurka called out.

Naruto gulped and moved to the front of the classroom. Hinata smiled at his unnecessary nervousness. He was so cute when he acted humble. There was no way that he would fail. He was too good at what he did. Of course, her smile fell when a dejected Naruto walked through the door…without a headband.

She gasped and she looked to the side to see that the others were just as surprised and she even noticed that in the front, Sasuke bristled.

"Ha!" someone from the back shouted, "Of course the dobe wouldn't graduate!"

Before Hinata or the others could react, Naruto had turned around and left the room. Hinata wanted to chase after him and comfort him, but she was still too nervous to really help. Instead she decided to talk to a certain scarred chūnin after class. She didn't have to wait long because Ino had just finished her test and Iruka was giving some long winded speech about being genin and what not.

As the rest of the class left the room and went out to the front of the school, Hinata stepped towards him only to be passed by a furious Tsukihana, "What the heck!" she yelled, "Naruto is perfectly skilled! Why would he fail?"

Iruka sighed and picked up a piece of paper, "I know what you mean," he said, "I had such high hopes in him. If he hadn't failed at his Bunshin test, he would have passed with near perfect scores."

"Then why didn't you let him pass?" she practically yelled.

Iruka sighed in shame, "It is required. If he was unable to complete the ninjutsu portion, then I am required as a sensei to fail him. I probably would have been able to let it slide if he had at least made some progress on his Bunshin, but the clone ended up just as bad as always."

Hinata lit up, "I-Iruka-sensei, do you have a clone that takes more chakra?"

Iruka scratched his head, "What makes you ask?"

Hinata blushed and looked down, "I-I used my Byakugan to check his chakra u-usage in attempt to help and I-I was shocked at how much chakra he had. B-Because of this, I thought that maybe the reason that he was having trouble w-with Bunshin was because it took so little chakra a-and his large reserves made it d-difficult for him to use such a small amount.

Iruka blinked, "Is that so?" he took up a thinking pose, "That makes sense. I suppose that I could try that. He seems promising enough. I just need to find Mizuki-sensei and we can make a make-up test for him. If he successfully makes a Bunshin, be it an elemental one, I'll be more than happy to pass him."

Tsukihana jumped up and down, clapping, "Yes! We can-"

"Iruka!" a chūnin ran into the room, "Uzumaki Naruto has just broken into the Hokage tower and stolen the scroll of sealing. We have been scouring the village trying to find him. Hokage-sama has enlisted as many chūnins and Jonins as possible!"

Iruka frowned, "What?" he turned to the kids, "You guys stay here. I'm going to go see if I can find him."

He jumped off and Hinata motioned towards the others and they followed. When Iruka saw them, he sighed in resignation and had Hinata use her Byakugan to search for Naruto. She then led them into a clearing.

"Naruto!" Iruka called angrily.

Naruto scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, "Aw man, you caught me! I only had time to learn one technique," he opened his eyes and was taken aback as he saw the others with him, "Guys? What are you doing here? Are you guys going to watch my make-up test?"

Iruka looked confused, "Make-up test?"

Naruto nodded, "Yup! Mizuki-sensei said that if I snuck into the tower, took the scroll, and learned a technique and showed it to you, then I would be able to pass."

"Wha-?" Iruka was unable to finish as he pushed Naruto away only to be met with a shower of metal. He turned to the boy and cried out, "Naruto! Don't let Mizuki have the scroll! He lied to you to get it!"

Hinata looked to the others and they quickly jumped to the bushes before Mizuki could see them. Luckily, Mizuki had seemed to be busy trying to mess with Naruto and he did not notice them. She and the others tried to sneak back to the village to inform the Hokage, but they were stopped by Mizuki's next words.

"Do you want to know why you are hated?" he asked.

"Mizuki don't!" Iruka tried.

Mizuki sneered, "What?" he turned to Naruto, "I just wanted to tell you that the Yondaime sealed the Kyūbi inside of you!"

Hinata gasped along with the others beside her. That explains why Naruto was hated. He was the container of the Kyūbi. So not only was he the hero of their group, but he was also the hero of the village due to him protecting everyone from the gigantic beast. It made her respect from him grow even more.

Hinata had found herself unable to move as she saw the scene pass in front of her. Mizuki attacked the two. Naruto ran away. Iruka praised Naruto. Mizuki was angered by this. He moved to kill Iruka. Naruto kicked his ass. She smiled at the fact that he had used Bunshin to do it. Iruka passed his Hitai-ate to Naruto. In the end, Mizuki's evil scheme ended up sealing his own fate. He had Naruto learn a technique and ended up falling victim to it.

When it finally ended, Iruka offered to take Naruto to Ichiraku's. That was when Hinata and the others stepped out.

"Way to go, Naruto-kun!" Tsukihana cried, glomping the object of her outburst.

Naruto looked at her, confused, "What?" he managed to choke out.

"You were so awesome!" she yelled ,"You so totally kicked Mizuki's ass!"

Sabishi nodded, "I-It really w-was impressive."

Hinata smiled, "W-wonderful."

Sasuke grunted, "It wasn't that bad…" He trailed off.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Naruto asked.

Hinata smiled, "W-we came with Iruka-sensei wh-when he came to find you."

His eyes went wide, "Did you hear what Mizuki-teme said?"

Hinata fidgeted, "Y-yes." She said.

Naruto looked defeated, "So you know why I'm hated. I would understand if you guys didn't want to be my friends anymore."

Hinata just stared, slack-jawed. Sabishi joined her and Sasuke looked a little disturbed. Tsukihana was the only one able to actually respond verbally. She let go of him and huffed, "Boy, of all the stupid things you've said, that definitely takes the cake."

Naruto blinked slowly and tilted his head, "What?" he asked, the hopefulness in his voice almost heartbreaking.

She rolled her eyes, "Well, duh. If anything, your container status just makes us respect you more. I mean, you're the freaking protector of the village! If it weren't for you, then the Kyūbi would probably be running rampant. You are so cool!"

He sniffed a little and when he looked up, he had two stream flowing down his cheeks. The rest of the group, sans Sasuke, ran up to him and joined into a group hug. Even Iruka joined in.

Sasuke scoffed, "Crybaby."

He immediately shrunk back when he was met by four icy glares from disgruntled kids and a stern look from a chūnin teacher.

Iruka's stern look turned to a warm smile, "Alright, so I assume that Hokage-sama watched the whole scene on his crystal ball, so do you guys want to go to Ichiraku's for ramen on me before we go report what happened?"

Naruto cheered, This is the greatest day ever!"

**Owari**


	9. Team Assignments

**Chapter 9**

Sabishi tried his best to keep his uninterested visage, but the scene in front of him was really tugging on his self-control. There was a large flurry of limbs in the front of the class. The shout of 'Forehead girl' and 'Ino pig' echoed through the class as the pinkette and the blonde brawled in front of the object of their conflict.

Sasuke, the said object, was just sitting there and staring. The only sign that he was perturbed was the twitching eyebrow. The group was so focused on the brawl that they hadn't even questioned why Naruto was there even though he supposedly failed. That is, until Shikamaru looked up to their group.

"You know, just even though you guys snuck him into class, since Naruto didn't pass, he still can't get a genin team."

Naruto smirked and held out his headband, "What are you blind? I gut this here headband to tell me I passed."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "Whatever." He went back to sleep.

Iruka walked into the room just as the fight seemed to be escalating, and he was apparently just as happy with it as Sabishi was.

"Shut up, you brats!" he yelled, and a wave of silence fell over the class, "I will now list off your teams, so pay attention! Alright! Team 1…"

Sabishi just sorta tuned Iruka out after that, as there wasn't really any point in listening for information that didn't concern him. He sighed and put his head down as he waited. He noted Naruto bouncing around in the chair beside him and he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips. Naruto was so cool.

"…Team 7 consists of Uzumaki Naruto," Sabishi looked up and shared a glance with the blonde in question, "Haruno Sakura," The pink haired girl just put her head down in defeat and sighed, "Uchiha Sasuke," Naruto and Sakura shot up and cheered before the two shared a scrutinizing look and sat down slowly while not breaking eye contact, "You will be taught by Hatake Kakashi."

Sabishi snickered, "Ever since last night when Sasuke had revealed himself as Fumei to Naruto, the hyper little blonde had proudly accepted Sasuke's friendship with no disagreement. While Sabishi was a little disappointed that he couldn't join on a team with Naruto, a sentiment he no doubt shared with Hinata, he was glad that their friend had at least one member of the club to help him out.

"Team 8 is Hyūga Hinata," He smiled to her and she returned it, "Aburame Shino," his smile turned into a frown, "Inuzuka Kiba. You will be taught by Yuhi Kurenai."

Hinata frowned as well and Sabishi patted her on the back, "It's alright, Hinata-senpai, At least you'll be able to make new friends. I'm sure we can still hang out even after we get our other groups."

She smiled softly in response, "Thanks, Sabishi-kun."

"Team 9 is Gekkō Sabishi, Ro Tsukihana, and Kidzukau Dare. You will be taught by Otoko Kyōshi."

Sabishi turned to Tsukihana and the two shared a smile before turning to the front of the class.

"Team 10 is Akimichi Chōji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino."

The five friends ignored the rest of the class as Iruka listed the last of the teams. Once they were allowed to go, Sabishi was pleased when Kyōshi-Sensei showed up almost automatically. Moments later found the small team in the park.

"So," Kyōshi began, "Let's introduce ourselves."

Tsukihana waved her hand, "Oh oh! I'll go!" He nodded to her and she put her hand down, "My name is Ro Tsukihana and I like my friends," she giggled softly and gained hearts in her eyes, "And Naruto-kun," Sabishi sweat-dropped and she continued, "I dislike anyone who is mean to my friends and anyone besides Hinata-chan that tries to get Naruto-kun before me," Sabishi's sweat-drop only grew in size and yet she still talked, "My dream branches off from one decision. That decision is if Hinata decides to marry Naruto. If she does, then I want to be a bridesmaid at Naruto-kun's wedding. If she doesn't…" she trailed off and giggled until she squealed in delight, "Okay, your turn, Satoshi-kun."

Sabishi smiled at her usual antics before turning to the other and blushing from the attention, "My-my name is Gekkō Sabishi. I l-like my friends and my-my idol. I dislike anyone who's m-mean for no good re-reason. My dream is to help my idol achieve his dr-dream."

Finally, the last boy smiled, "My name is Kidzukau Dare. I like hanging with my friends and playing tricks on people. I dislike being caught. I haven't decided on a dream."

Kyōshi frowned, "Boy this group isn't very ambitious. Report to training ground forty tomorrow to see if you become part of this team."

The three nodded before walking out. Tsukihana split off with Sabishi and the two headed towards the fan club. They were going to celebrate with the others since they all graduated from the academy. The small group met up and they all celebrated.

As the party ended, Sabishi waved goodbye as he started away from the academy and towards home. When he got to bed, he could only stew in anticipation for tomorrow. He could only hope they passed."

**XxOxX**

Tsukihana hugged Satoshi tightly as she cried on his shoulder. She barely noticed, but really appreciated when he began to rub soothing circles on her back. She continued to sob, letting her disappointment and shame show to the equally unhappy boy that was holding her.

"Why did that idiot have to be so strong headed. Now we have to go back to the academy and its because that guy wouldn't work with us.

Satoshi sighed and said, "We c-could have tr-tried harder to convince h-him. Besides, H-his name w-was-,"

"Who cares!" Tsukihana interrupted (1), "He caused us to fail our genin exams and now we can't help Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, and Hinata-chan!"

Just as she seemed to be starting on her tirade, there was a poof of smoke and Kyōshi stood in front of them, "While it is true that you two failed my test, I think that you may still be able to work as ninja," at their hopeful expressions, he chuckled then continued, "Sabishi-kun, I think you may make a good Iryō-nin. I have spoken with my friend at the hospital, and he is willing to tutor you in the art," he turned to Tsukihana, "As for you, little lady, when you displayed your skills on the battlefield, it surprised me. I thought you would just be another fan girl, but your skills speak for themselves. I also noticed that the tiajutsu you were using were similar to another's. I can ask her and see if she'll tutor you," he sighed, "I'll be willing to pay for your lessons for the first couple of weeks, but once you start doing jobs, I expect you to pay me back as well as anything she charges you. Although, by that time if you haven't quit, she might just agree to teach you," he sighed again, "Had it not been for your third member, you probably would have passed. I won't deny deserving students of an education just because of one bad egg."

Tsukihana tackled Kyōshi and began to sob thanks into his waist. The following months would consist of the kids going through their own missions as the others all passed their test. Once Tsukihana and Sabishi found out about the D-rank missions, Tsukihana barked out laughter while Satoshi snickered softly. Naruto could only cry fake tears as he described his quest for Tora, the Daimyō's wife's cat. The next day, she wasn't too surprised when Naruto had freaked out and demanded a C-rank mission. The small group gathered at the gate to see Naruto and Sasuke off as they left to wave.

As The group disappeared over the horizon, Tsukihana turned to the other and smiled, "So the original three finally get together! Let's go grab lunch!" Before either quiet kid could mutter any response, she had grabbed their wrists and began dragging them to Ichiraku's.

"So," she began, "Spill."

Hinata smiled, "I-I got onto a t-team. Kiba-kun and Shino-kun are really nice. My-my teacher, Kurenai-sensei was scary at first, but she's actually really nice."

Tsukihana nodded eagerly and waited for the quiet girl to continue. When she didn't, she sighed, "That's really cool, Hinata-chan! I'm glad you're making new friends. Satoshi! You're next!"

Satoshi squirmed under the gaze, but he smiled slightly, "Doctor Isha is a re-really good teacher. He's taught m-me really well and he said th-that I'm a really fast study. Currently, my assignment is t-to try to keep a fish alive. I think I've al-almost got it."

Tsukihana smiled and slapped him on the back, causing him to topple over, "Way to go, Satoshi-kun!" as he began to pull himself back up; she grew somber, "You guys are lucky. I got a crazy psycho snake lady as my teacher. While it's gotten to the point where she doesn't charge for lessons anymore, it's still really scary. Sometimes I fear dying in her class."

Hinata tried her best to smile reassuringly, but Tsukihana wasn't feeling it, "It'll be okay, Tsukihana-chan. I bet you could tough it out."

Tsukihana just sighed dejectedly. The three went through the rest of the day in each other's company and they all thought back to their challenges. The only difference was that they were unable to spy on their favorite blonde. The day ended too fast for their collective likings and as Tsukihana readied for bed, she could only sigh in contentment as she waited for the next day to come.

**Owari**

**All my oc's have names that mean stuff, cause I suck at making names, so…**

**Sabishi Gekkō: Lonely Moonlight**

**Tsukihana Ro: Moon Flower Dew**

**Fumei: Unknown**

**Kyōshi Otoko: Teacher man**

**Dare Kidzukau: Who cares **

**(1) tee hee**

**Isha: Doctor**

**ナルト**


End file.
